Gleedo
by FinchelFan728
Summary: Rachel is the head cheerleader and Finn is a shy nobody. When Rachel is blackmailed into joining the glee club, what will that mean for Finn and Rachel? Follows the same general plots of the show, but AU at times.
1. Chapter 1: Pilot

_Hey guys! Thanks for all your support on all my stories. So, here's a new one :) This sty will follow some of the same plots of the show - but some things will be different. For one thing, in this story, the characters who were jocks and cheerleaders on the show are the outcasts, and the outcasts are the jocks and the cheerleaders. For now, the episode titles will be the same, but that might change as the story goes on. Hope you enjoy and review if you like the first chapter. Today's my birthday, so I'd love reviews on this (and my other story) as a birthday present :)_

Pilot

Rachel Berry looked in the mirror, looking at the gold star necklace around her neck. She wanted to wear this necklace to school. When she was little, her dads put her in singing, acting and dancing lessons, and she came to love performing. Her elementary and middle school fed into Carmel High in Akron, which had a national championship winning show choir that she hoped to join in high school.

Then the summer before freshman year, Rachel's dad had been transferred to another ACLU firm in Lima, and they'd moved away. Instead, she was going to McKinley High School. The guy who ran the glee club gave Rachel a bad vibe, so she joined the cheerleading squad in hopes of furthering herself as a performer.

Joining the cheerios had been a bad decision. Rachel hated the person the cheerios had turned her into. The other girls on the cheer squad constantly made fun of the other kids at the school. They particularly made fun of Finn Hudson, a shy boy who sat in the back of their classes who was very tall and liked to play the drums.

Rachel took off the gold star necklace. Every day she wore the same old cheerio uniform. Guys from around the school were always looking at the girls in their short skirts. Rachel had been asked out at the end of freshman year by Kurt Hummel, the first freshman and the lightest weight person to ever become quarterback of the football team. Rachel's best friends, Mercedes Jones and Tina Cohen-Chang, talked about how Rachel and Kurt had the potential to become the school's power couple, with him becoming quarterback and her becoming head cheerleader as a freshman. Mercedes was the other head cheerleader, and Tina, who was a freshman, had already been named the substitute head cheerleader, having made the team as an eighth grader.

"Are you ready for school?" Rachel heard her dad call.

"Yeah," Rachel called. She wasn't. She wanted to go back to her old life, where she could just be Rachel Berry, not be under the pressure of being head cheerio or having the fear of being made fun of by the people she thought were her friends. People thought that Rachel was one of the most popular girls at school, but she even felt like a bit of an outsider with the cheerios. She didn't hang out with the girls much outside of cheerios practice. Well, she would sometimes hang out with Mercedes and Tina, but they were much closer to each other than to her.

Rachel's dad pulled the car up to the school, and Rachel walked over to where Mercedes, Tina and some of the other cheerleaders were standing by the dumpster with Santana Lopez, a girl who Rachel had some classes with. Santana had Latina roots and sometimes spoke Spanish instead of English and got made fun of a lot for it.

"Rachel!" Mercedes called out. "You just made it in time!"

"What's going on?" Rachel asked.

"Come on," Tina said, handing Rachel a slushie. "You can have the first one."

Rachel didn't like the idea of this. She'd never been slushied - in fact, while the other cheerios threw slushies on people, she often stood back.

Why did high school have to be so tough?

x

Finn Hudson thought that the best way to get through high school was to be as removed as possible.

Freshman year had mostly consisted of not talking, coming to class and just focusing on school. Even with trying to be on the outside, Finn was still made fun of. Some people made fun of his height, some made fun of his good grades, some made fun of the videos he used to post of himself singing and drumming on YouTube that he stopped posting because he was tired of being made fun of.

Finn's mom had told him high school was the best years of her life. She'd met his dad in high school and had close friends. So why was it such a nightmare for Finn? What had he done to these people to make them hate him so much?

Finn ducked to avoid a slushie he saw some of the cheerleaders tossing on Noah Puckerman. He looked over at the cheerios. Mercedes Jones and Tina Cohen-Chang were cracking up. The third one, Rachel Berry, had an uneasy look on her face. Finn thought Rachel seemed nicer than some of the other cheerios. She'd never been mean directly to Finn, or anyone. Finn actually thought that Rachel was pretty. She had a nice body, nice legs, pretty brown eyes and brown hair. No. He couldn't think like that. No way would a girl like Rachel Berry want to date a nobody like Finn Hudson.

Finn went into his Spanish class, listening as Kurt Hummel, Blaine Anderson and Artie Abrams snickered when he gave Mr. Schuester the correct answers. Kurt was tiny, but he'd somehow become the quarterback of the football team. Blaine was another football player, and so was Artie, depsite the fact that he was in a wheelchair. As class ended, Mr. Schuester announced that he was taking over glee club and that auditions would be held after school that day.

Maybe this would finally help Finn make friends. He liked to sing and drum, and maybe spending time with other people who liked those things would help him enjoy high school more. He walked into the auditorium, ready to try out. "I'm Finn Hudson and I'll be singing Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon."

"Great, let's hear it," Mr. Schue said.

The music began and Finn started singing. This had always been one of his favorite songs.

 _Finn: I cant fight this feeling any longer_ _  
_ _And yet Im still afraid to let it flow_ _  
_ _What started out as friendship, has grown stronger_ _  
_ _I only wish I had the strength to let it show_ _  
_ _And even as I wander_ _  
_ _Im keeping you in sight_ _  
_ _Youre a candle in the window_ _  
_ _On a cold, dark winters night_ _  
_ _And Im getting closer than I ever thought I might_ _  
_ _And I cant fight this feeling anymore_ _  
_ _Ive forgotten what I started fighting for_ _  
_ _Its time to bring this ship into the shore_ _  
_ _And throw away the oars_ _  
_ _Baby, I cant fight this feeling anymore_ _  
_ _My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you_ _  
_ _Ive been running round in circles in my mind_ _  
_ _And it always seems that Im following you, girl_ _  
_ _Cause you take me to the places that alone Id never find_ _  
_ _And even as I wander Im keeping you in sight_ _  
_ _Youre a candle in the window on a cold, dark winters night_ _  
_ _And Im getting closer than I ever thought I might_ _  
_ _And I cant fight this feeling anymore_ _  
_ _Ive forgotten what I started fighting for_ _  
_ _Its time to bring this ship into the shore_ _  
_ _And throw away the oars, forever_ _  
_ _Cause I cant fight this feeling anymore_ _  
_ _Ive forgotten what I started fighting for_ _  
_ _And if I have to crawl upon the floor_ _  
_ _Come crashing through your door_ _  
_ _Baby, I cant fight this feeling anymore._

"Wow, Finn," Mr. Schue said. "That was great. We've had six other kids try out, but you were by far the best."

Finn felt so happy. "Thank you!"

"Our first rehearsal is after school tomorrow," Mr. Schue said. "I'll see you then."

x

When Finn arrived for the first rehearsal, he noticed that it was a very small group so far. There was Santana Lopez, the sophomore girl whose family had immigrated from Puerto Rico. There was Brittany Pierce, a freshman who did a web series with her cat on YouTube. There was Quinn Fabray, one of the biggest nerds in the sophomore class who thought she was smarter and better than everyone else and was very religious. There was Noah Puckerman, a Jewish boy who constantly talked about his Judaism. There was a freshman named Sam Evans, who had a big mouth and attempted to do impressions. And there was Mike Chang, the smartest member of the sophomore class.

"Finn!" Mr. Schuester said as Finn came in. "All right, everyone's here."

"So, can we dance?" Mike asked.

"We'll work dancing into our routines," Mr. Schuester said. "I wanted to give you guys your first song. When I was in glee club, we brought the house down with Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat."

Finn looked at the sheet music. He didn't think this song was going to get them anywhere. If they wanted to attract more kids to the glee club, they'd need to do songs that other kids would like. After all, the glee club would need 12 members to go to the first competition.

Mr. Schuester had given the solo to Santana, but Finn could tell this wasn't going well. As he left rehearsal, Finn looked at Mr. Schue. "So... can I tell you something?"

"Sure," Mr. Schue said. "I know I didn't give you the solo, Finn, but I stand by what I said: you have the best voice there."

Finn smiled to himself. "Thanks. But Mr. Schue - I think we need a really strong female lead. The three girls we have so far are good - but they don't have the epic feel we need if we want to destroy the competition."

"Finn, it was only the first rehearsal..." Mr. Schuester began.

"I know," Finn said. "But my high school experience has sucked so far. And I want things to get better. We need a strong female lead." This hadn't gone how he'd hoped. These kids weren't ever mean to him, true, but they definitely avoided him in the classes he had with them...

x

When Rachel had heard about the glee club starting up again, she'd wanted to join. She loved singing. But what would the other cheerios think? They'd once slushied one of the girls on the team when they found out she went to a Broadway show. Today Rachel had to leave cheerios practice early and was showering in the locker room while the other girls were still practicing. Still thinking about music, Rachel began singing On My Own from Les Mis in the shower.

 _Rachel: On my own_ _  
_ _Pretending he's beside me_ _  
_ _All alone_ _  
_ _I walk with him 'til morning_ _  
_ _Without him, I feel his arms around me_ _  
_ _And when I lose my way, I close my eyes and he has found me_ _  
_ _In the rain_ _  
_ _The pavement shines like silver_ _  
_ _All the lights are misty in the river_ _  
_ _In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight_ _  
_ _And all I see is him and me forever and forever_ _  
_ _And I know it's only in my mind_ _  
_ _That I'm talking to myself and not to him_ _  
_ _And although I know that he is blind_ _  
_ _Still I say there's a way for us_ _  
_ _I love him_ _  
_ _But when the night is over_ _  
_ _He is gone_ _  
_ _The river's just a river_ _  
_ _Without him, the world around me changes_ _  
_ _The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers_ _  
_ _I love him_ _  
_ _But every day I'm lonely_ _  
_ _All my life I've only been pretending_ _  
_ _Without me, his world will go on turning_ _  
_ _The world is full of happiness that I have never known_ _  
_ _I love him_ _  
_ _I love him_ _  
_ _I love him..._ _  
_ _But only on my own..._

Then she heard footsteps and stopped singing. She looked out the curtain and saw Ms. Pillsbury, the guidance counselor. At least it wasn't a cheerio. Still, she probably shouldn't let the cheerios hear her singing.

x

"Rachel, can I borrow you?"

Rachel looked up from her desk in study hall, where she was reading a cheerleading magazine with Mercedes and Tina. She saw Mr. Schuester. Was she going to get in trouble for not studying during a study hall? "Sure," Rachel said.

"Come with me," Mr. Schuester said, leading Rachel to his office. When they arrived, Mr. Schuester handed Rachel a packet labeled "Chronic Lady." "I saw you drop this on your way out of class."

Rachel examined the packet. What was this? "What? I don't even know what this is!"

"Seriously?" Mr. Schuester asked. "Want to tell me how long you've had a drug problem, Miss Berry?"

Drugs? This was drugs? "What? Someone must have gotten this in my stuff!" Drugs? She knew her dads hadn't been happy with her lately... but drugs? "I swear, that isn't mine!"

"Rachel, I saw that fall out of your books," Mr. Schuester said. "This isn't who I thought you were. I thought you were better than that."

Rachel's dads had been telling her a lot that she thought she was better than the cheerios. Now her teacher was saying that. "I am better than that! I swear, this isn't mine!"

"You could get expelled for this," Mr. Schuester continued. "You could end up in jail."

"I can take a test to prove this isn't mine!" Rachel protested. "You just can't tell my dads!"

Mr. Schuester stared at Rachel. "Well, if more people find out about this, they could find out."

"Is there anything I can do?" Rachel asked, feeling desperate. Now she was going to become a loser...

"There are two ways you can get out of this," Mr. Schuester said. "For one, you can spend a month in detention, but that'll go on your record."

"What else can I do?" Rachel asked.

"You can join glee club," Mr. Schue said. "We need more girls."

Glee club? Rachel had wanted to join glee club. But what would the cheerios think? And what would Coach Sylvester think?

"If you join glee club, your dads won't find out about what fell out of your books, and you won't have detention on your record," Mr. Schue continued. "You may only be a sophomore, but this would go on your record and colleges will wonder why it happened..."

Rachel gulped. "Can we not let Coach Sylvester and the other cheerios know about me being in glee club?"

"If that's what you want," Mr. Schuester said.

"Okay," Rachel sighed. "I'll join glee club." But she was still concerned. Would the cheerios make fun of her now? Would Kurt break up with her?

x

"All right guys, how about some Grease today?" Mr. Schuester asked the glee club the next day as he handed out music.

Well, Finn knew that high school kids did like Grease. He looked at the sheet music. Then the door opened, and Rachel Berry came in. Rachel Berry. The pretty head cheerleader. Finn was pretty sure she was the only cheerleader who'd never slushied him or called him a name.

"Everyone, welcome our new member, Rachel Berry," Mr. Schuester said.

"Oh, no me gusta!" Santana shouted. "She slushied me the other day!"

"Yeah, she and her friends are always calling me Trouty Mouth," Sam added.

"Don't we get to vote on her?" Quinn asked.

Finn felt bad. Rachel had always seemed like one of the nicer cheerios. But what was he supposed to say?

"Guys, Rachel is joining the glee club!" Mr. Schuester said. "She's not with the cheerios right now, I want you to treat her like an individual, not a cheerio."

"Her friend the football player in the wheelchair always running over my feet," Mike grumbled.

"Her friends aren't here now!" Mr. Schuester said. "But Rachel is. And Rachel, I want to see how your voice sounds with Finn's. You're going to take the Sandy part of You're The One That I Want."

"Okay," Rachel said. It was the first time she'd spoken. Mr. Schuester handed the sheet music to the piano player and Finn began the song.

 _Finn: I got chills, they're multiplyin'  
And I'm losin' control  
'Cause the power you're supplyin'  
It's electrifyin'! _

Finn looked over at Rachel and listened as she sang her part. She was good. Really good.

 _Rachel (New Directions): You better shape up (Doo doo doo)  
'Cause I need a man (Doo doo doo) (Doo doo doo)  
But my heart is set on you (And my heart is set on you)  
You better shape up (Doo doo doo)  
You better understand (Doo doo doo)  
To my heart I must be true (Doo doo doo) _

Now Finn and Rachel had to sing together. This was the most fun Finn had had singing in glee club so far. He thought his voice sounded great with Rachel's. She was such a good singer. And she was so pretty. He could only imagine how pretty she looked wearing clothes other than her cheerleader uniform... or not wearing clothes at all...

 _Rachel and Finn (New Directions): Nothin' left, nothin' left for me to do (Doo doo doo)  
You're the one that I want (You are the one I want)  
Rachel and Finn with New Directions: Ooh, ooh, ooh  
Rachel and Finn: Honey! The one that I want  
New Directions: You are the one I want Ooh, ooh, ooh_

Santana interrupted the song. "Why are you letting the cheerio have the first solo?"

"It's only one song," Mr. Schuester said.

"And this is the best we've sounded so far," Sam admitted.

Finn agreed. This was the best. He had a feeling having Rachel in the glee club would be a good thing.

x

"You were really good yesterday," Finn told Rachel, coming up to her at her locker.

Rachel smiled at Finn. "Thanks. You're really good, too."

"You think so?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. He was. Yesterday was the most fun Rachel had in a while. At glee club, she didn't feel pressure. The kids were a little distant at first, but maybe they could warm up to her. And she did like singing with Finn... and she'd never noticed how cute he was...

No. She couldn't think like this. She had a boyfriend.

"So, I was telling Mr. Schue about a song I have in mind for you and me to lead the glee club in," Finn said. "Don't Stop Believing, by Journey."

"I love that song!" Rachel exclaimed.

Finn smiled. His half smile was so cute. "Me too."

Kurt, Blaine and Artie came over. "Hi Rachel. Hi Frankenteen," Kurt snapped. "What's going on?"

Rachel paused. Kurt would probably make fun of her if he found out where she'd been yesterday. She'd told everyone her dads needed her help around the house, but that wasn't true...

"Oh, I'm paired with her for a project," Finn interrupted.

"Oh," Kurt said. "Well, I hope you have time this weekend, Rachel, to go to the mall with me. I want to see all the dresses you're considering for Homecoming. I need to approve of them."

Rachel wanted to choose her own dress. And shouldn't her boyfriend be surprised by her dress? Kurt was always critiquing her wardrobe. "Yeah, we'll figure something out..."

"Great," Kurt said. He smirked at both Blaine and Artie as his friends each grabbed a slushie and threw them on Finn. Now that Rachel was friends with Finn, she noticed how upset he looked.

"What was that for?" Rachel called as they walked away, Artie wheeling over Finn's feet.

"He's a loser," Kurt called. "I don't want my girlfriend talking to losers."

Rachel looked up at Finn. "Are you okay?"

"This happens every day," Finn said as he walked away.

x

As Rachel began to leave the glee club meeting, Mercedes and Tina came over to her with some other cheerios. "What's going on, Rachel?" Mercedes asked.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"We totally saw you in the choir room with that freakishly tall guy and the crazy cat lady and the big mouthed guy," Tina said. "And the Jew, and the Jesus freak, and the Latina, and that Asian nerd."

Rachel gulped. She guessed eventually they'd find out. "Well, I joined the glee club."

"What?" Mercedes asked. "Rachel, since when are you a loser?"

"It's fun," Rachel protested.

"Fun?" Tina asked. "Cheerios is what's fun."

Not for Rachel. But she couldn't tell them the real story. Those drugs weren't even hers. "I got caught cheating on a test and Mr. Schue said he'll give me extra credit to make up for that test if I join."

"Please, it's one test," Tina snarled. "You're either one of us or one of them. Make up your mind."

Rachel watched as her freinds walked away. The people she thought were her friends. She saw what they did to people. Would they start doing this to her if she stayed in the glee club?

x

Rachel hadn't been at glee club meetings in a few days. Mr. Schuester had liked Finn's idea for the number led by Finn and Rachel, but they couldn't do it if Rachel wasn't there to do it with Finn.

On his way to the glee club meeting, Finn saw Rachel at a vending machine. "I haven't seen you at glee club lately."

Rachel looked uncomfortable. "I don't know if I can keep doing it."

"Why?" Finn asked. "Because of your superficial friends and your boyfriend who has to approve of everything you wear?"

"Finn..." Rachel began.

"I know what it's like to be made fun of," Finn told Rachel. "It sucks. But if you stick with us, you'll get a chance to really develop your talent instead of just jumping around in a short skirt screaming and waving pompoms. You're better than that. I know that. And you know that."

x

Rachel couldn't stop thinking about what Finn had said. She'd liked to think that she was better than the cheerios and caring about nothing but image and popularity. As she arrived for cheerios practice, she saw the girls standing around a port-a-potty. "What's going on here?"

"We wanted to see what side you're on," Tina said.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"We got that blond girl from the glee club who thinks she's so smart and pretty and perfect locked in the port a potty," Mercedes said. "Maybe Jesus can save her if he really does exist. But to prove your alliegance to us, you need to knock the port a potty over."

Rachel felt sick to her stomach. She didn't know Quinn very well. But she didn't deserve to be locked in a port-a-potty. Rachel walked over to the port-a-potty and opened the door. "Are you okay?" she asked Quinn.

"Oh, hell to the no!" Mercedes shouted. "Rachel, what are you doing? Helping that loser?"

Rachel was tired of this. "We live in a town full of losers. Only three kids went out of state for college in last year's graduating class. So many of the parents here work dead end jobs. Very few married couples stick together. I know I'm a loser. But I'm not going to quit something I enjoy."

"So, you're quitting?" Tina asked.

"I'm doing both," Rachel said. "And if you guys have a problem with that, that's your problem, not mine."

She'd done her best to look confident when she talked to the cheerios, but it had been hard. Still, Rachel knew that Finn was right. She couldn't turn her back on something that had made her happy. And she did like the idea of spending more time with Finn.

"Thanks," Quinn said, interrupting Rachel's thoughts. "You coming to glee today?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "Let's go."

x

Finn had to hold in his excitement as Rachel arrived in glee club with Quinn. She had listened to him. She wasn't quitting.

"I thought you quit," Mike said to Rachel.

"No," Rachel said. "And I'm sorry for making you think I would. I really want to be in this group. It made me feel good. This is the first time I've been able to be myself, with a group of people working for a common goal. And I want us to do that number Finn had in mind."

Finn gave Rachel a half smile. "You do?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. She turned to the group. "I'm sorry for what the football players and the cheerios have done to you all. And if you don't think you can trust me, I can't make you. I can't make you like me, either. But I just want to be here."

"Welcome back, Rachel," Mr. Schuester said. "Let's get started on that number."

x

Finn couldn't help but wonder if his talk with Rachel had made her decide to come back. As he performed Don't Stop Believing with Rachel, with the rest of the glee club backing them up, he knew that this was the right song for him and Rachel. This was the happiest he'd felt during his time in high school. And until now, he'd never noticed what a beautiful smile Rachel had. Their voices sounded even better this time.

 _Finn: Just a small town girl  
Livin' in a lonely world  
She took the midnight train  
Goin' anywhere  
Rachel: Just a city boy  
Born and raised in South Detroit  
He took the midnight train  
Goin' anywhere  
Finn: A singer in a smoky room  
Rachel: A smell of wine and cheap perfume  
Finn and Rachel: For a smile they can share the night  
It goes on and on and on and on  
Finn and Rachel with New Directions: Strangers waiting  
Up and down the boulevard  
Their shadows  
Searching in the night  
Streetlight people  
Livin' just to find emotion  
Hiding somewhere in the night  
Rachel: Workin' hard to get my fill  
Everybody wants a thrill  
Finn and Rachel: Payin' anything to roll the dice  
Just one more time  
Finn and Rachel: Some will win  
Some will lose  
Some were born to sing the blues  
And now the movie never ends  
It goes on and on and on and on  
Finn and Rachel with New Directions: Strangers waiting  
Up and down the boulevard  
Their shadows  
Searching in the night  
Streetlight people  
Livin' just to find emotion  
Hiding somewhere in the night  
Don't stop believin'  
Finn and Rachel: Hold on to that feelin'  
Rachel and Finn with New Directions: Street lights people, oh, woah, ohh  
Don't stop believin'  
Rachel and Finn: Hold on to that feelin'  
Rachel and Finn with New Directions: Street lights people, oh, whoa, ohh  
Don't stop!_

 _"You guys sounded great," Mr. Schue said at the end of the song. "I think we could take Sectionals with that."_

 _Rachel smiled at Finn and leaned over and whispered to him. "Thanks."_

 _"For what?" Finn asked._

 _"For coming up with the song," Rachel said. "For convincing me to come back."_

 _Finn smiled. "You're welcome."_


	2. Chapter 2: Showmance

_Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all your reviews on the first chapter. I appreciate it. Like I said, I'm trying to make this similar and different to the show at the same time, if possible. As you can see, some songs will be sung by different people. Hope you enjoy and review if I should keep going!_

Showmance

Unknown to Rachel, her boyfriend, along with Blaine and Artie, had been watching her and Finn perform with the glee club.

Kurt had seen the looks Rachel was giving Finn. He saw how happy she looked. He saw how happy Finn looked. Those looks were different than any looks she'd given him. If he wasn't careful, Rachel was going to slip away.

Kurt and Rachel were expected to be together, as the quarterback and the head cheerleader, the first people to ever be promoted to those positions while they were still freshmen. But little did Rachel know, Kurt needed her for more than status.

Kurt had joined the football team to get closer to his dad, who'd also been a football player. Ever since Kurt's mom died when he was eight, he and his dad were growing more and more distant from each other. Joining the football team had helped them bond, and Kurt's dad had been so proud of him when he was promoted to quarterback in the middle of his freshman year.

But over the summer, the incoming freshmen began attending weekly football conditioning camps, and Kurt had met Blaine and Artie, who'd gone to a different middle school. The three of them quickly bonded... but Kurt and Blaine's bond was a little more than best friends.

Over the summer, they'd made out a few times. And it felt good, much different than making out with Rachel had felt. But Kurt knew no one could find out about this. There couldn't be a gay quarterback. Coach Tanaka would probably demote him. And he'd get made fun of.

Rachel genuinely seemed to like Kurt. And he liked her too. Maybe not in a romantic way, but she was fun to spend time with, even though her clothes were horrible. But he'd seen the way she looked at Finn. The biggest loser in the sophomore class. That tall, awkward guy who was always freaking out over his grades even though he was the only person in their grade to get all As all the time. He always said the wrong thing whenever he talked. He always had the right answers in class and it was so annoying. Finn didn't have much fashion sense either. He was always wearing polo shirts, especially ones with stripes and plaid, and puffy vests. He rarely combed his hair. He played the drums in the school band and the marching band. How could Rachel possibly fall for a guy like that when she had the quarterback and the best dressed guy at McKinley?

As Kurt arrived at school with Blaine and Artie, he saw Rachel talking with Finn at his locker. Not just talking. Laughing. Smiling. Rachel turned and saw Kurt coming in with Blaine and Artie. No one, not even Artie, knew about Kurt and Blaine's sexual activity... Rachel came over to the boys. "Hey."

"Why were you talking to that loser?" Blaine asked.

"He's my friend," Rachel said.

Well, Rachel thought that Blaine was just Kurt's friend, and little did she know. "Why did you join that glee club anyway, Rachel?" Kurt asked. "It's ruining our campaign for Homecoming Duke and Duchess. We won Lord and Lady last year, and next year we could win Prince and Princess, and then King and Queen when we're seniors..." If Kurt kept winning those positions, maybe he could come out.

"I already told you about why," Rachel said. "I got caught cheating on a test..."

"It's one test!" Artie protested. "The only person ahead of you in the sophomore class is that nerd!"

"I like it," Rachel protested. "It's fun. Guys, please, stop it." She began to walk away. Kurt looked ahead and saw that Finn was listening.

"Oh, you snoop," Kurt snapped. "Let me tell you something - Rachel would never date you. So go ahead. Sing and dance with her all you want, but you're just making a fool of yourself."

Finn looked unfazed. "Too bad you didn't see the looks she was giving me the other day."

Oh yes. Kurt had seen those looks. He couldn't let Finn know. "Oh, so you're a liar, too?"

"I'm not a liar," Finn said. "By the end of the year, I know I'm going to have Rachel and you're going to have your footballs and helmets and all the games you've lost this year." Finn turned and began to walk away, but before he was gone, Mercedes, Tina and another freshman cheerio named Lauren Zizes threw slushies at Finn.

x

Finn had done his best to look confident when he stood up to Kurt, but he was struggling on the inside. He knew Kurt was right. It was possible Rachel had just been looking happy because she was enjoying the performance. Why would a girl like Rachel want to date a guy like Finn?

Anyway, Finn had to get to the choir room. Sam had texted him yesterday to say that the other glee club members wanted to have a meeting, so he went in and saw Puck, Mike, Sam, Quinn, Santana and Brittany. "Okay, everyone's here now," Mike said.

"Not everyone," Finn said. "We need to wait for Rachel. I was just talking to her."

"That's what we're here to talk about," Puck said. "I don't know if it's a good idea for Rachel to join the glee club."

"What?" Finn asked. "Of course she should be in the glee club. She's so talented..."

"We get it, Finn, you like her," Mike interrupted. "She's pretty, she's popular, she's smart, she's talented. But she's not what we need in this glee club."

"Aren't we being no different from the people who pick on us if we're trying to kick Rachel out?" Finn asked. "She said she wants to be part of the group."

"She doesn't need to be part of a group!" Brittany said. "She's a cheerio."

"I thought that this group wouldn't be like this," Finn said.

"Not everyone wants to kick her out," Quinn said. "I don't. She did rescue me from the other cheerios."

"Yeah, that was nice," Sam said. "And she told that Lauren Zizes girl to not push me into a locker the other day."

"If she wasn't popular, you guys wouldn't want her in the glee club," Santana said. "She's best friends with Mercedes Jones and Tina Cohen-Chang. And she's dating Kurt Hummel. He's a guy and he thinks he can tell everyone what to wear and what not to wear!"

"And don't forget about that Artie guy," Brittany said. "He's always wheeling over people's feet."

"But those people aren't in the glee club!" Finn protested.

"She might bring them," Santana said.

"Hey, I think we need to lay off her," Finn said. "She might just want a safe place. I see her. She looks like she's under a lot of pressure. I don't think she wants to be who society expects her to be."

"Yeah, like I said, she pulled me out of that port-a-potty in front of the cheerleaders," Quinn said. "She could have just knocked it over like they wanted her to."

"She pet Lord Tubbington when I brought him to school," Brittany said. "And she did smile at him."

"She's never said something dumb to me in a fake Spanish accent," Santana said.

"And like I said, she told Lauren Zizes not to push me," Sam said. "That girl is huge... I could have gotten more hurt."

"She's Jewish like me," Puck admitted. "She can't be all bad."

"And she's a pretty good dancer," Mike added.

"See?" Finn asked. "She might be our secret weapon."

x

"Rachel Berry!"

Rachel gulped as she heard Coach Sylvester call her name as she left cheerios practice. She was terrified of Coach Sylvester. She always followed her coach's instructions and worked hard on the routines because she didn't want to get on her coach's bad side. She knew without the cheerios, she was inches away from getting slushied.

Rachel looked at her coach. "Yes?"

"Rachel, I heard you're in the glee club now," Coach Sylvester said.

"Yeah," Rachel said. She knew Coach Sylvester didn't like Mr. Schuester at all.

"Why?" Coach Sylvester asked.

What was Rachel supposed to say? Would Coach Sylvester believe the cheat sheet excuse? And what would she think if Rachel talked about the drugs? "Mr. Schuester wasn't happy with me and joining avoided getting me in trouble..."

"That man is crazy," Coach Sylvester interrupted. "i'll talk to him and get you out of that glee club."

Out of the glee club? Rachel wanted to be in the glee club. "But I think it would help my resume..."

"I think you have college scholarships in the bag," Coach Sylvester said. "You won National Championships for cheerleading as a freshman head cheerleader. Plus, I make a point to hire a very diverse squad. You don't need glee club."

"I want to be in glee club," Rachel said.

"No you don't!" Coach Sylvester snapped. "You're a hot popular girl. No one wants to be with the girl in glee club."

"I have to go," Rachel said. Already she was becoming hesitant. She wanted to quit the cheerios. But she knew if she did, she'd become an outcast.

x

The song Mr. Schuester had picked out for the assembly was horrible. Finn knew they needed four more members to qualify for Sectionals, but with this song, they weren't going to get the four members they needed. Why couldn't they just do Don't Stop Believing again? That was a good song, and Finn had loved singing with Rachel...

Finn texted Rachel. He knew that she could find a great song. A few minutes later, Rachel came into the library. "Hey."

"Hey," Finn said, smiling at Rachel. "Thanks for coming to meet me here."

"Of course," Rachel said. "We can't do that song at the assembly. Disco is so lame."

"I know, right?" Finn asked. "Even my mom doesn't like disco."

Rachel gave Finn a pretty smile. "Well, I'm sure you and I can find another song."

"Let's think," Finn said. "What do kids our age like? What does your boyfriend listen to?"

"He'd probably kill me if he knew I was telling you, but he listens to a lot of showtunes," Rachel said.

"Really?" Finn asked. The quarterback of the football team liked showtunes? Even Finn didn't really care for them.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I don't think he'd like it if I told you..."

"My lips are sealed," Finn said.

"You're so sweet," Rachel giggled.

Finn wanted to kiss Rachel. She was so cute. "How about we look at my ipod?"

"Lots of the football players like action and stuff like that," Rachel said.

"Action is pretty cool," Finn said. "I guess we could use a song from one of my video games..."

"Yeah, but what about the girls?" Rachel asked.

"Would the guys be attracted to a song from a chick flick?" Finn asked.

"Well, probably not," Rachel said. "Let's think... what's something boys and girls are both into?"

Finn and Rachel spoke at the same time. "Sex!" They both laughed at having the same thought at the same time.

"That's it!" Finn said. God, he loved Rachel's laugh. "Let's find a song about sex and put a new number together with the other glee club members."

"Yes!" Rachel said, giving Finn a hug. "That's perfect!"

x

The other glee club members were on with the idea of the song Finn and Rachel had picked up. And Rachel had to admit, she had really liked grinding with Finn on the stage.

 _ _Girls: Get up on this!  
Get up on this! __

_Ow! Baby!  
Salt-N-Pepa's here!  
Finn: Now wait a minute, y'all  
This dance ain't for everybody  
Only the sexy people  
So all you fly mothers, get on out there and dance  
Dance, I said!  
Rachel: Salt-N-Pepa's here, and we're in effect  
Want you to push it, baby  
Coolin' by day then at night working up a sweat  
C'mon girls, let's go show the guys that we know  
How to become number one in a hot party show  
Now push it  
New Directions: Ah, push it - push it good  
Ah, push it - push it real good  
Ah, push it - push it good  
Ah, push it - p-push it real good  
Hey! Ow!  
Get up on this!  
Finn: Yo, yo, yo, yo, baby-pop  
Yeah, you come here, gimme a kiss  
Better make it fast or else I'm gonna get pissed  
Can't you hear the music's pumpin' hard like I wish you would?  
Now push it  
New Directions: Ah, push it - push it good  
Ah, push it - push it real good  
Ah, push it - push it good  
Ah, push it - p-push it real good  
Ah, Push It  
Get up on this, get up on this, get up on this!  
Ah, push It !  
Girls: Ow! Baby baby!  
Boy, you really got me going  
You got me so I don't know what I'm doing  
Ow! Baby baby!  
Boy, you really got me going  
You got me so I don't know what I'm doing  
New Directions: Ah, push it - push it good  
Ah, push it - push it real good  
Ah, push it - push it good  
Ah, push it - p-push it real good  
Ah, Push It  
Get up on this, get up on this, get up on this!  
Ah, push It !_

The students applauded at the end of the number, and that made Rachel feel good. Maybe this meant that she'd get less crap from the cheerios?

However, she knew her singing could get better. And she also knew who could help her with it. As Rachel and Finn were leaving the stage, Rachel turned to Finn. "After school today, do you think we could hang out in the auditorium and work on my singing?"

Finn gave Rachel a half smile. "Sure!"

x

The day after school, Rachel and Finn were in the auditorium. Finn and Rachel had run through some songs together. "How was that?" Rachel asked.

"That was really good!" Finn said.

"You think?" Rachel asked.

"You're REALLY talented," Finn said. "I really don't think that anyone could be as good as me - but I was wrong."

Finn noticed that Rachel was blushing. "Wow, thanks Finn."

"Hungry?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, a little," Rachel admitted.

"Well, I brought a little picnic for us," Finn said, unfolding a picnic blanket.

"Awww this is so sweet!" Rachel said. "It feels really good to be in the glee club."

"Really?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "Everyone thinks of me as this popular cheerleader with perfect grades, but the thing is, I'm just like everyone else. I wanted friends who see me as me and not the popular cheerio and I've gotten that in glee."

"Yes you do," Finn said. "I know what it's like to be under pressure. Being number one in our class... I need to keep that."

"You know who's right behind you?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I'm not letting you catch me!" Finn said as they both laughed. She was so hot and sexy... especially in regular clothes. He poured some drinks for himself and Rachel. "Cheers."

Rachel clinked her glass against Finn's. "Cheers." As she and Finn looked into each other's eyes, she suddenly spoke. "You're hot."

That had taken Finn off guard. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Rachel said.

Finn couldn't help but stare. "You can kiss me if you want to."

"I want to," Rachel admitted. She leaned over as she and Finn kissed a few times. Kissing Rachel felt amazing. It was like the world was stopping. It was just the two of them. Right there. Right now.

x

Rachel loved kissing Finn... wait. She couldn't do this. She had a boyfriend. She pulled away from Finn. "I've got to go."

"What?" Finn asked.

"I have cheerios practice, I forgot," Rachel said. "We can work on our singing another time, okay?"

Finn looked disappointed. "Okay."

Rachel knew what she'd done was wrong. She was cheating on Kurt, who'd done nothing to her. She'd been attracted to Finn ever since she joined glee. She knew she wasn't supposed to be attracted to him, but there was something about him that just drew her in.

He was handsome. He was smart. He was funny. He was kind. He was talented. He was just...

She couldn't be attracted to him. But she was. And she knew those feelings weren't going away.

x

"I am so disappointed in you guys!" Mr. Schuester snapped in glee the next day. "Doing a song about sex and a sexual dance?"

"Well, it's not like anyone would have joined if we did the disco song," Finn groaned.

"Why didn't you come to me?" Mr. Schue asked.

"We tried but you insisted," Rachel said. "But I guess our plan backfired, because I don't see any new members."

"Excuse me?" a voice asked. Finn turned and saw Kurt, Blaine and Artie in the doorway.

"May I help you guys?" Mr. Schue asked.

"We want to join glee club," Blaine declared.

Finn felt like he was having a heart attack. Rachel's boyfriend and his two sidekicks were joining the glee club. Did he know somehow? How long had he known?

"I thought you thought this was lame," Rachel said.

"Well, what type of boyfriend would I be if I didn't support you?" Kurt asked.

"Let's see what you three have got," Mr. Schue said.

Kurt handed some sheet music to the piano player as the three boys broke into song. Finn felt a bit threatened. Artie had a great voice. So did Blaine. Kurt may not be a baritone or a tenor, but he was good, too...

 _ _Kurt: She take my money when I'm in need  
Yeah, she's a triflin' friend indeed  
Oh, she's a gold digger way over town  
That digs on me  
Artie (Kurt and Blaine): (She gives me money) Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger  
(When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' wit' no broke, broke  
(She gives me money) Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger  
(When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' wit' no broke, broke  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head get down  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head get down  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head get down  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head  
Artie (Blaine): (She gives me money) Cutie the bomb, met her at a beauty salon  
(When I'm in need) With a baby Louis Vuitton under her underarm  
(She gives me money) She said, I can tell you rock, I can tell by your charm  
(When I'm in need) Far as girls, you got a flock, I can tell by your charm  
(I gotta leave) And your arm, but I'm lookin' for the one  
(I gotta leave) Have you seen her?  
Kurt Blaine and Artie: No we ain't seen her!  
Artie (Blaine): (She gives me money) Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger  
(When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' wit' no broke, broke  
(She gives me money) Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger  
(When I'm in need) But she ain't messin' wit' no broke, broke  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head get down  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head get down  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head get down  
(I gotta leave) Get down girl, go 'head  
Artie (Kurt): (She gives me money) 18 years, 18 years  
(When I'm in need) She got one of yo kids, got you for 18 years  
(She gives me money) I know somebody payin' child support for one of his kids  
(When I'm in need) His baby mama car and crib is bigger than his  
(I gotta leave) You will see him on TV any given Sunday  
(I gotta leave) Win the Superbowl and drive off in a Hyundai  
(I gotta leave) She was s'pose to buy your shorty TYCO with your money  
(I gotta leave) She went to the doctor got lipo with your money  
(She gives me money) She walkin' 'round lookin' like Michael with your money  
(When I'm in need) Should've got that insured, GEICO for your money, money  
(She gives me money) If you ain't no punk  
(When I'm in need) Holla, "We want prenup!"  
Kurt, Blaine and Artie: We want prenup! Yeah!__

"Wow!" Mr. Schue said at the end of the performance. "Welcome to the glee club! Now we only need one more member before we can go to Sectionals."

Finn looked over at Rachel. She looked genuinely surprised. The boys didn't pick on anyone during glee practice, but it still didn't feel right.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Finn turned as he was leaving to see Rachel running after him.

"Why didn't you tell me your boyfriend and his minions were joining?" Finn asked.

"I didn't know," Rachel protested. "He didn't say anything to me."

"Really?" Finn asked. "He doesn't know about what happened the other day?"

"Of course he doesn't," Rachel said.

"Why did they do it though?" Finn asked. "My freshman year was the worst year of my life. And glee club was starting to make things better. I was starting to make friends and now my tormentors come around..." Now he could see why people were hesitant about Rachel.

"We'll always be friends, I promise," Rachel said. "Finn..."

"I have to go," Finn sighed. He didn't want to be friends. He wanted more than that.


	3. Chapter 3: Acafellas

_Hey guys. Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter. Some notes about this chapter - the party obviously didn't take place in the show, but I want it for setup of what happens in Episode 4... And even though Lauren wasn't in ND in Season 1, I wanted there to be an equal number of guys and girls, since I wanted Sam and Blaine to be around from the beginning. And Finchel and Quick's song was planned in S1 and cut from episode 13. Enjoy and review if I should keep going._

Acafellas

Rachel hadn't expected her boyfriend to join the glee club. Not after the hard time he'd given her about joining the club. She had a bad feeling it was because he knew about what happened between her and Finn. She was tempted to ask him, but she couldn't reveal that she had cheated on him. He was at the top of the social pyramid. If he found out, the entire football team would come after her.

It was true that Rachel was probably thought of as popular as well, but she didn't feel popular. She knew if she made one wrong move, the entire cheer squad would turn on her. Ever since she joined glee club, the other cheerios talked to her less and less. Even Mercedes and Tina didn't talk to her as much.

She didn't expect to be falling for Finn. Sure, she didn't like the way people treated him even before she knew who he was. She always felt sorry for him. But now that she was getting to know him, she was liking him more and more.

Before Kurt had joined glee club, Rachel would sit with Finn in glee club. Now Kurt always made sure she sat with him, Blaine and Artie. She knew that Finn didn't like it. Today, she looked across the room, where Finn sat at the drums. She gave Finn a smile, and Finn gave her one of his cute half smiles back. She wanted to spend more time with him. But Kurt was always on her back - making sure she didn't talk to Finn.

Today, Mercedes, Tina and Lauren walked into the choir room. "We'd like to join the glee club," Mercedes announced.

"What?" Rachel asked. First the football guys, then the cheerios. What was up with this?

"I can sing," Tina announced.

"Yeah, and boy bands are hot," Lauren added.

"Okay girls, do you have an audition song prepared?" Mr. Schuester asked, Rachel still not believing what she was seeing.

"Hell to the yes!" Mercedes declared as she handed some sheet music to the piano player.

 _ _Lauren and Tina: Ahhhhhh, ahhhhh...  
Mercedes: I bust the windows out your car  
And though it didn't mend my broken heart  
I'll probably always have these ugly scars  
But right now I don't care about that part  
I bust the windows out your car (Lauren: Hey!)  
After I saw you looking right at her  
I didn't wanna but I took my turn  
I'm glad I did it 'cause you had to learn (Tina: learn...)  
I must admit it helped a little bit (Tina: ah-ah-ah)  
To think of how you felt when you saw it (Lauren: ah-ah-ah)  
I didn't know that I had that much strength (Tina: ah-ah-ah)  
But I'm glad you see what happens when (Lauren: woah)  
You see you can't just play with people's feelings (Tina: ah-ah-ah)  
Tell them you love them and don't mean it (Lauren: ah-ah-ah)  
You'll probably say that it was juvenile (Tina: woah)  
But I think that I deserve to smile ha, ha, ha, ha (Lauren and Tina: woah)  
I bust the windows out ya car (Tina: woah)  
You know I did it 'cause I left my mark (Lauren: wo-ah ah)  
Wrote my initials with a crowbar (Tina: ah-ah wo)  
And then I drove off into the dark (Lauren: wo-ah-ah)  
I bust the windows out ya car, hey (Lauren and Tina: woah)  
You should feel lucky that that's all I did (Tina: woah)  
After five whole years of this bullsh- (Lauren: ah-ah)  
Gave you all of me and you played with it  
Oh, oh, oh, whoa oh, oh  
I must admit it helped a little bit (Tina: ah-ah-ah)  
To think of how you'd feel when you saw it (Lauren: ah-ah-ah)  
I didn't think that I had that much strength (Tina: ah-ah-ah)  
But I'm glad you see what happens when (Lauren: woah)  
You see you can't just play with people's feelings (Tina: ah-ah-ah)  
Tell them you love them and don't mean it (Lauren: ah-ah-ah)  
You probably say that it was juvenile (Tina: ah-ah-ah)  
But I think that I deserve to smile (Lauren: woah)  
Bust windows out yo car  
But it don't come back to my broken heart  
You could never feel I how I felt that day  
Until that happens baby you don't know pain, no woah!  
I bust the windows out your car__

Rachel was surprised by how good of a singer Mercedes was. Tina was pretty good too, and Lauren... wasn't bad. At the end of their song, the three cheerios went to sit with the football players, Rachel feeling more and more uneasy.

At the end of practice, Rachel caught up with the three girls. "You guys are in the glee club now?" Rachel asked. "You don't like that I'm in it."

"Of course we don't want to be in it, Berry," Lauren said. "Coach Sylvester told us to join so we can destroy the glee club from within."

"What?" Rachel asked. "Why?"

"Because it's lame," Mercedes laughed. "What does Mr. Schuester think he's doing? And he wants some of Coach Sylvester's money for us..."

"Well, I do think we can afford to do without so many pom poms, or all those clothes, or tanning..."

"How can you say that?" Tina asked. "I love how she buys all our clothes!"

"What's the point?" Rachel asked. "She makes us wear our uniforms to school every day."

"Are you with us or not?" Lauren asked.

Lauren's question stung. Rachel knew that she was seconds away from being slushied if she didn't pretend to agree with the cheerios.

x

Finn couldn't believe that some of the cheerios had joined the glee club. Hell, he was a bit intimidated by them, despite his height. Lauren was almost as tall as him and weighed considerably more, and even though Mercedes and Tina were smaller than him, vicious words came out of their mouths. He had to wonder - were the cheerios really popular in terms of people liking them? Or were they popular in the sense that everyone was afraid of them?

"So, how do you feel about convincing us not to kick Rachel out of the glee club now?" a voice asked. Finn turned and saw Santana at her locker.

"She told me that she didn't get the football players to join, and she looked pretty shocked when the cheerios showed up..." Finn began.

"Why do you keep defending her?" Santana asked. "Do you like her? Well, I know lots of guys at this school like her. She does have a pretty smile, and she has good legs and pretty hair..."

Santana was describing what Finn thought of Rachel perfectly. "You think I like her?" Finn asked.

"Well, she's with that guy who's way too small to be the quarterback," Santana snapped. "Besides, no one would want to date someone who's at the bottom of the social ladder."

Finn looked down. Santana wasn't very high on the social ladder either. But he didn't want to say anything to her about that. He wasn't that type of person.

"I'm sorry," Santana said, noticing Finn looked upset.

"It's fine," Finn said. Come to think of it, at least she was talking to him. So many people at this school wouldn't even talk to him. And she was really pretty. Maybe not as pretty as Rachel, but she was pretty in a different way... "Hey, do you have a boyfriend?"

"What do you think?" Santana asked.

"I was just asking," Finn said. Santana was pretty. Maybe she would be a worth a shot.

x

Santana was sure that Finn had been checking her out.

Granted, this was Finn Hudson who was checking her out, and seemed to be flirting with her, even though she was sure he liked Rachel. When they talked about Rachel, Santana had hoped Finn hadn't picked up any hints. Santana had to admit, Rachel was pretty sexy. The fact that she was one of the few cheerios who never seemed to act on her own to hurt people was a pretty appealing point.

Even though Santana did feel some physical attraction to Rachel, Rachel wasn't the girl she wanted. Her heart was with someone else - Brittany. Ever since they were little, there had definitely been something about Brittany that Santana had liked. She remembered thinking Brittany was pretty back in grade school, even though Brittany was in the year below her. And she LOVED Brittany's YouTube podcast with her cat, Fondue For Two. She looked forward to it every week, and it always made her laugh.

But she couldn't let people know that she was a lesbian. She'd become an even bigger outcast at school than she already was. She was pretty low on the totem pole. It was always a fear of hers that people would get suspicious or find out. And Finn seemed to be showing interest in her. It was the first time a guy had shown interest in her. Maybe if she went out with Finn, it would make her attracted to guys.

"I'll tell you what," Santana told Finn. "You and me, Breadstix, eight o clock."

"Sounds good," Finn stuttered.

x

Rachel had gotten a text from Finn. Every time she got a text from Finn, it made her smile. It had been about a week, but she still hadn't stopped thinking about what happened in the auditorium that one day. She'd liked kissing Finn. Really liked it. Finn was asking her to meet him in the auditorium.

"Who was that?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, just a friend," Rachel said.

"A friend?" Kurt asked. "Because we haven't bought your dress for homecoming yet..."

"I was thinking I'd go with Mercedes, Tina and Lauren," Rachel said.

"Haven't we talked about this?" Kurt asked. "I need to approve of the dress!"

Rachel groaned. "Kurt..."

"I've told you Rachel, you need to look your best," Kurt said. "I have a reputation to protect..."

Rachel didn't say anything. She was tired of arguing with Kurt. "I'll be back later, okay?"

"Okay, do you think we can go to Wicked when it comes to town this weekend?" Kurt asked.

"Yes!" Rachel said. That was something good about Kurt. He did love musicals and showtunes, even though she knew she could never tell the football team. Rachel walked to the auditorium, telling herself she couldn't kiss Finn again.

x

"Face it, Rachel isn't coming," Mike said.

Finn wasn't sure if he thought this was a good idea. This felt like another version of the meeting the glee club had to discuss whether not Rachel should stay in the club. What was going to happen now? "I texted her earlier."

Rachel came in. "Hey guys."

"Oh, look who decided to show up," Puck said.

Rachel looked confused. "What?"

"Rachel, what's up with those cheerios and football players joining glee?" Mike asked.

"I didn't even know they were going to," Rachel said.

"Are you sure?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I liked it when it was just you guys and me."

"Well, they do count toward our member requirement for Regionals..." Quinn began.

"Yeah, it was impossible to find people," Sam said. "Maybe they'll end up being cool, like Rachel."

"You guys think I'm cool?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "Real cool. Not popular type cool."

"Thanks," Rachel said. "I do feel something special here. With the cheerios, I feel like I'm only there because I'm afraid of them. With you guys, I feel like I'm actually having fun."

"So you didn't have them come so this would be something else for Kurt Hummel to take over?" Santana asked.

"No," Rachel said.

As everyone else left, Finn grabbed Rachel's arm. "I think we need to talk, don't you?" Finn asked.

"What about?" Rachel asked.

"About what happened in the auditorium..." Finn began.

"Oh..." Rachel said, looking uncomfortable.

"You kissed me," Finn said. "You wanted to."

Rachel looked down. "You can't just act like that didn't mean anything," Finn continued. "Just say something."

"I like you a lot," Rachel said.

"I like you too," Finn said. This wasn't going anywhere. Anyway, Santana had shown interest in him. "I'm actually going out with Santana on a date, so it's not like there's something between us..."

Rachel looked shocked. "Santana?"

Now the look on Rachel's face looked like she as into Finn. "Yeah," Finn said. "I've never been on a date before."

"Well..." Rachel paused. "I hope she realizes how lucky she is to be the first. I have to go, Finn. But we'll hang out soon, okay?"

"Okay," Finn said. He wished he was going out with Rachel, but clearly she wasn't breaking up with Kurt. Maybe something could happen with him and Santana.

x

"These breadsticks are gross, for a place called Breadstix," Santana snapped, eating a breadstick.

This wasn't how Finn's first date was supposed to go. "Well, I think they're good."

"What do you want to have as our main dish?" Santana asked. "We can get pasta, and then we can chew on a long piece and end up having it at each other like in Lady And The Tramp."

Wasn't this a little fast to be moviing? "Um..." Finn began.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Santana said. "That's Brittany's favorite part of Lady And The Tramp."

"Well, I do like pasta," Finn said.

"So that's it" Santana said. "We'll get pasta."

"Okay," Finn said.

x

"Mr. Schuester, this choreography isn't good enough," Mercedes announced.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Schue asked. Finn thought this choreography was easy enough. He'd never had much rhythm, but he could do this.

"What do you mean, Mercedes?" Mr. Schue asked.

"She's right," Tina said. "If we want to win Nationals, we need to hire a better choreographer."

"Mr. Schue was on a national championship winning team at Nationals," Finn said.

"Yeah, 20 years ago," Lauren said. "The cheerios won Nationals last year with routines choreographed by Dakota Stanley."

"Yeah, we need someone who can figure out good moves for me to do with my wheels," Artie declared.

"Guys..." Mr. Schuester began.

Rachel looked at the looks Mercedes, Tina and Lauren were exchanging. They'd told her that they joined the glee club under Coach Sylvester's orders to destroy it from within. Now she knew what they were doing.

"Maybe they're right," Quinn said. "The cheerios are proven champions, an d it takes more than god-given talent to win."

"Ignoring the comments about a God that doesn't exist, she's right," Lauren said. "We need a professional choreographer."

"Well, we don't have the money in teh budget," Mr. Schue said, looking discouraged.

"We can have a fundraiser," Blaine said. "The football team has car washes."

x

The glee club was struggling to find money to pay for a choreographer, and Mr. Schuester was starting a boyband. Finn had gone with Santana to see the boyband perform. She talked about thinking it was lame, but Finn did think it was pretty cool. Now the glee club was having another car wash, with a party to be held afterwards. Finn had to admit, he did like the idea of the glee club party. He'd never been to a party before. He and Santana had plans to go to a movie this weekend. Maybe his social life was looking up. "This is going to be our third time going out this weekend," Finn told Santana. "Can we make it official?"

"Make what official?" Santana asked.

"That we're dating," Finn said.

"Finn, I thought you understood, I like someone else," Santana snapped, looking over at the car that Sam and Brittany were washing.

"Sam?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, for a while now," Santana said. "Besides, being in bed with you would be like being smothered by a sack of potatoes."

Finn made a face, feeling hurt. He thought that he'd finally found a girl who liked him - and she was into someone else. "Okay."

x

The glee club party was held at Kurt's house. Finn stood in Kurt's basement, shocked by what was there. This wasn't what he would expect the quarterback of the football team to have in his basement. Kurt had weird drapes, a weird lamp, what looked like a vanity set, a sewing machine, posters from Broadway shows... and then there was his big queen sized bed. Where Kurt and Rachel probably did all the stuff Finn wanted to do with her.

What shocked Finn even more was that there was alcohol at this party. Kurt said that his dad was out, so he could just break into his dad's alcohol cabinet. This made Finn really uncomfortable. They were all underage. But still, he stood around, watching as everyone but him and Rachel got drunk.

Rachel came over to Finn. "Not drinking?"

"No, we're too young," Finn said.

"I know," Rachel said. "So, how's it going with Santana?"

"She likes Sam," Finn said.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "You'll find a girl, Finn."

Santana came over to Finn and Rachel. "Finn... I'm sorry I dumped you," Santana wailed. "I know I should like you but I don't."

"Like me?" Finn asked. "I'm a loser. It's Kurt you should like."

"Finn!" Rachel exclaimed.

"No," Santana continued. "Because you're a boy."

"You don't like boys?" Finn asked.

"I like girls," Santana said. "They're so pretty and smell so good..."

So Finn had dated a lesbian for the first girl he ever went out with. "Well, I don't have anything against gay people," Finn said.

"Me neither," Rachel said. "My dads are gay."

"Good," Santana said. "I think your boyfriend's gay too, Rachel."

Rachel made a face. "What?"

"Yeah," Santana said.

"He's not," Rachel said. Finn found himself wishing Kurt was gay. That would free up Rachel for him... Still, he had to do something to get everyone to stop drinking.

"How about some karaoke," Rachel said, pointing to Kurt's karaoke machine. "We are the glee club after all."

"Yeah!" Finn said. "Want to sing together, Rachel?"

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"No!" a voice said as Rachel turned and saw Quinn and Puck coming over. "I want to sing first with this lovely lady."

"Well, Finn and I are sober," Rachel said. Finn smiled. How cute could Rachel get?

"I want to go first," Quinn said.

"Why don't all four of you do it, and then I'll sing with Blaine," Kurt said. "And do the first song that comes on."

"Okay," Finn said as he turned on the machine. The song that came up seemed fitting - it was about love falling apart. He couldn't have the girl he wanted, and the girl he almost had broke up with him.

 _ _Finn: Let me hold you for the last time  
It's the last chance to feel again  
Rachel: But you broke me, now I can't feel anything__

 _When I love you it's so untrue  
I can't even convince myself  
When I'm speaking it's the voice of someone else_

 _Finn: Oh, it tears me up  
I tried to hold on but it hurts too much  
I tried to forgive but it's not enough  
Puck: To make it all okay_

 _You can't play on broken strings  
You can't feel anything  
That your heart don't want to feel  
I can't tell you something that ain't real_

 _Quinn: Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse  
How can I give anymore  
When I love you a little less than before?_

 _Rachel: Oh, what are we doing?  
We are turning into dust  
Playing house in the ruins of us_

 _Rachel and Finn: Running back through the fire  
When there's nothing left to save  
It's like chasing the very last train  
When it's too late, too late_

 _Quinn and Puck: Oh, it tears me up  
I tried to hold on but it hurts too much  
I tried to forgive but it's not enough  
To make it all okay_

 _Finn, Rachel, Puck and Quinn: You can't play on broken strings  
You can't feel anything  
That your heart don't want to feel  
I can't tell you something that ain't real_

 _Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse  
How can I give anymore  
When I love you a little less than before?_

 _Finn and Quinn: But we're running through the fire  
When there's nothing left to save  
Puck and Rachel: It's like chasing the very last train  
When we both know it's too late, too late_

 _Rachel and Quinn: You can't play on broken strings  
You can't feel anything  
That your heart don't want to feel  
Finn and Puck: I can't tell you something that ain't real_

 _Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse  
So how can I give anymore  
When I love you a little less than before?  
Finn, Rachel, Puck and Quinn: Oh, you know that I love you a little less than before_

 _Let me hold you for the last time  
It's the last chance to feel again_

Finn had to admit - he felt like he was playing on broken strings. Kurt and Blaine took over the karaoke machine, and Finn was left to think about Rachel. Maybe he would have been better off drinking tonight.

x

"I am furious with all of you!" Mr. Schuester snapped in glee club on Monday.

"What did we do?" Sam asked.

"Oh, Mr. Hummel called the school and asked if I knew what you did at his house when he was gone on Saturday," Mr. Schue said. "Drinking underage? What were you guys thinking?"

"Well..." Kurt began.

"I'll let you guys think," Mr. Schue said. "And as punishment, we won't hire a professional choreographer."

The glee club groaned. "That's right guys. And I want you to think about what you did."

"I have a song I'd like to share, an idea for Sectionals," Rachel announced.

"Okay, but we're not talking about Sectionals now," Mr. Schue said.

Rachel looked disappointed. Finn kept listening to Mr. Schue lecture the kids about drinking, but since he didn't drink, he just focused on himself. When he went to the locker after glee practice, he heard a voice in the room and looked in to see Rachel singing.

 _Rachel: How about a round of applause  
Hey, standin' ovation  
You look so dumb right now  
Standin' outside my house  
Tryin' to apologize  
You're so ugly when you cry  
Please, just cut it out  
And don't tell me you're sorry 'cause you're not  
Baby, when I know you're only sorry you got caught  
But you put on quite a show  
Really had me goin'  
Now it's time to go  
Curtain's finally closin'  
That was quite a show  
Very entertaining  
But it's over now  
Go on and take a bow, ohh ohh  
Grab your clothes and get gone  
You better hurry up  
Before the sprinklers come on  
Talkin' bout'  
Girl, I love you, you're the one  
This just looks like a re-run  
Please, what else is on  
And don't tell me you're sorry 'cause you're not  
Baby when I know you're only sorry you got caught  
You put on quite a show  
Really had me goin'  
Now it's time to go  
Curtain's finally closin'  
That was quite a show  
Very entertaining  
But it's over now  
Go on and take a bow, ohh ohh  
And the award for the best liar goes to you  
(For makin' me) believe  
(That you) could be  
(Faithful) to me  
Let's hear your speech out!  
But you put on quite a show  
Really had me goin'  
Now it's time to go  
Curtain's finally closin'  
That was quite a show  
Very entertaining  
But it's over now  
Go on and take a bow  
But it's over now_

Finn clapped at the end of the song, and Rachel turned. "Hey!"

"That was good," Finn said. "What was that about though?"

"Oh, I just thought it would be good," Rachel said.

Finn could tell by the look on her face there was some meaning behind it. But what? Was it a song she was aiming at herself for cheating on Kurt?

He knew he had to do everything he could to prove himself to Rachel.


	4. Chapter 4: Preggers

_Hey everyone. Thanks so much for the reviews. They mean a lot to me. To address a few things... to the person who complained about the song lyrics, I put them in so it can be like an episode of Glee. I put them in italics so you can skip over them if you want. And as for this chapter... I did consider giving Finchel a pregnancy, but their main obstacle for now has been established. Plus, I always liked Quick, so I figured, why not still give it to them and not have Finn in the picture this time? Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and review if I should keep going :)_

Preggers

Finn stood at his locker as Dave Karofsky came by, slushie in hand. Finn knew what was coming as the slushie was tossed in his face. It was true that after joining glee club, he'd started to make some friends, but he was still getting slushied - often every day. He'd hoped that the one upside to having cheerleaders and football players in the club would be the end of the slushie attacks, but they hadn't. It's not like Kurt, Artie and Blaine would even talk to Finn outside of glee.

Finn tried to think - was there a way to get this to stop? Maybe if HE joined the football team, the football players would see them as one of them instead fo someone to throw slushies at.

There was one problem. How could he get on to the team? Coach Tanaka was Finn's gym teacher last year and didn't seem to like him very much. Then it came to him - could he find a way to get the glee guys who were on the football team to get him a tryout? They didn't like him very much, but maybe if he was on the team, they could see another side of him.

So at the end of the glee club meeting, Finn took a deep breath. He didn't know if this would go anywhere. But it was worth a try. He was tired of being the school outcast. And this could help. He walked up to Kurt at the end of glee club. "Hey, I need to ask you something..."

"Sorry Finn, I have a date to Homecoming already," Kurt said. "But thanks for asking me. I know how important dances are to gays."

Kurt was accusing Finn of being gay? Hadn't Santana just said she thought Kurt was gay? "I'm not gay," Finn said.

"Oh, then what do you want?" Kurt asked.

"I want to join the football team," Finn told Kurt.

"The football team?" Kurt asked. "You know all the guys on the team make fun of you. Aren't you wondering who toilet papered your house last spring?"

Finn had almost forgotten about that. His mom had called the police. "You guys did that?"

Kurt looked guilty. "Well, Dave Karofsky thought it was a good idea... maybe it was a bit much."

Even if it was a few months after the fact, at least Kurt was realizing it was too much. "Yeah, it was too much," Finn said.

"Why do you want to join the football team anyway?" Kurt asked.

"Well..." Finn couldn't say he wanted to improve his social standing. Kurt would laugh at him and it was the first time that they'd had a civil conversation. "I know college is a while away but I'm already thinking about scholarships..."

"You know our team sucks, right?" Kurt asked. "We lost all our games, even the one against the school for the deaf."

"Yeah, but I want to join the football team anyway," Finn said. "I do like to watch football..." That wasn't a lie.

"What are the guys on the team going to think of me if I bring you to join?" Kurt asked.

Finn was tired of Kurt trying to find a way for him not to join. "Do the guys on the team know about the posters from Broadway musicals you have in your room? Or your sewing machine?"

Kurt looked horrified. "I shouldn't have had the party at my house. No one from the team has been there except Blaine and Artie, so none of the others know about it..."

"Well, they might find out about it if you don't get me a tryout for the football team," Finn smirked. Was Kurt feeling threatened by him?

"Okay, fine," Kurt snapped. "You can meet up with me after school to go to football practice."

"Awesome!" Finn said. If he joined the football team, maybe the slushies would finally end.

x

Quinn couldn't remember much about the party at Kurt's house.

For one thing, it was the only party she'd been to for her whole high school career. Not very many people would even talk to her, much less invite her to a party. She would pray that one day people would open up to her - after all, God didn't make mistakes. Her parents had both been Ivy Leaguers, and her sister had just graduated Harvard and married a man she'd met there. But in other ways, she was different from her parents and sister.

Her dad had been the star of the football team in high school. Her mom and sister were both prom queens and head cheerleaders. But she knew she had no chance at making the cheer squad. When she showed up at tryouts, Coach Sylvester had told her she dressed like an old woman and turned her away. She tried to study hard to get good grades, but everyone knew there was no chance at catching up with Finn to be valedictorian - he got 100 on nearly every test and every assignment. She couldn't even be the top girl in the class - she thought the cheerleaders were dumb, but Rachel Berry was the only person in their class who even came close to giving Finn a run for his money.

So her parents had been thrilled out of their minds when she'd told them she was going to this party. Once she got there, she was surprised when there was alcohol there. She knew her parents would be horrified if they found out she'd been drinking. But shouldn't this have been about new experiences?

She was able to loosen up that night, and she'd noticed something - Noah Puckerman, even though he was Jewish, was pretty hot. She'd flirted with him, and he returned the flirting.

They'd gone into Kurt's closet together, and Finn had opened the door and said they both had their pants off. Quinn knew what that meant - they'd had sex. What did that mean? Her parents would kill her if they found out. They were firm believers in no sex before marriage.

Quinn hadn't used protection. She and Puck hadn't even planned to have sex. But seeing as they both took off their clothes and decided to do it, it had happened.

Some time had passed since the party and Quinn's period hadn't come. It was due any day now, but it could be late. What would her parents think if she was pregnant? More importantly, what would Puck do? How was she going to pay nine months worth of medical bills? And what would happen to the baby? Her parents would shame her if she got an abortion. She knew she didn't have the means to raise a baby and her parents wouldn't help. Anyway, her period would hopefully come soon and this would be over.

x

"You said you watch football, right?" Kurt asked Finn as they walked toward the football field.

"Yeah," Finn said. This was it! He was trying out for the football team. Blaine and Artie came over, and Finn wondered what they would say. He tried to think of something before he spoke. "Look at it this way, guys: the more crossover between glee and football, the easier your lives will be."

"What?" Blaine asked. "You're joining the football team?"

"He threatened to talk about my Broadway posters and sewing machine if I didn't get him a tryout," Kurt snapped. Finn and Kurt had been getting along earlier, but maybe that was a fluke.

"Do you even know how to play football, Finn?" Artie asked.

"If you can do it from a wheelchair, I can do it," Finn said as Coach Tanaka came over. He gulped.

"Coach, this is Finn Hudson," Kurt said. "He wants to join the football team."

"I remember you," Coach Tanaka said. "Where were you at tryouts?"

Finn tried to think of what to say. "Come on, we need all the help we can get," Kurt said. "We need to win at least one game."

"Well, I guess we can see what you can do," Coach Tanaka told Finn. "We can test you as a kicker."

Finn sighed with relief. "Thank you Coach!"

"Don't beg!" Coach Tanaka snapped.

Some of the other football players came over. "What's he doing here?" Dave Karofsky snapped.

"I'm trying out for the football team," Finn said.

"You?" said a boy named Azimio. "No way!"

"We'll see what he can do," Coach Tanaka interrupted. "Finn, let's see if you can get the ball through the field goals. Kurt, hold it for him like you would for a kicker."

Finn went to where Kurt was standing with the ball to kick it. He didn't know if this would work. He wasn't coordinated, and he wasn't sure if he could trust himself. He watched the ball, and to his surprise, it went through the goals.

"Can you do that in a game?" Coach Tanaka asked Finn.

"I think so," Finn said, still not believing what happened.

"Okay, we'll see on Friday," Coach Tanaka said. Finn shot Kurt a grateful look, and Kurt gave Finn a barely noticeable smile.

x

"Hey, guess what?"

Rachel looked up from her locker and saw Finn standing there. "What's up?"

"I joined the football team," Finn announced.

Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What?"

"Yeah, your boyfriend got me a tryout," Finn said proudly. "I'm going to be a kicker at the game on Friday."

"You are?" Rachel asked. This didn't make sense. Finn hadn't shown interest in joining the football team before.

"Yeah!" Finn repeated.

"Did you say Kurt got you a tryout?" Rachel asked. Something about this didn't make sense. Kurt hated Finn.

"You know, I can see why you like him," Finn said. "When just he and I were talking, he was actually kind of cool."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "So, Finn - what made you decide to join the football team?"

Finn sighed. "Why is it bothering you?"

Rachel had a feeling Finn was doing this to impress her. He didn't need to do anything else to impress her. Rachel would definitely date Finn, but she was worried about what Kurt would do if she broke up with him. She still did feel guilty for cheating on him. Kurt was a good guy - but the romantic chemistry she felt with Finn wasn't there with Kurt. "I know you..."

Finn looked annoyed. "I know this is hard for you to get, but I'm tired of being laughed at all the time. I'm tired of being slushied and having people call me names and write bizzare messages about me on the walls in the bathroom."

Rachel felt bad for Finn. "Oh... I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you're sorry, but you don't know what it's like," Finn continued. "I want people to stop picking on me. And this might be my first step."

"Being a cheerleader or a football player doesn't make you popular," Rachel admitted. "I know it looks like I'm popular, but I spend most of my free time alone."

"But people don't throw slushies on you!" Finn said.

"I've been shunned at cheerios practice lately," Rachel said. "The other girls don't talk to me. Not that they ever did much."

"Well, I look forward to you cheering at my football game on Friday," Finn said, walking away.

"Finn, wait!" Rachel called.

Finn paused and looked over at Rachel. "What's up?"

"We haven't really talked since... well, you know," Rachel said.

"It's okay, I get it," Finn said. "That song you were singing was about punishing yourself for cheating on Kurt."

"No, that wasn't it," Rachel said. "I just thought it would be good for Sectionals." The truth was, she was singing it because she felt her relationship falling apart. She couldn't say that in a hall though.

"Anything you sing would be good," Finn said. "Okay, I'll see you around."

x

"That was cool how you got Finn a tryout for the football team," Blaine said to Kurt in Kurt's bedroom. Blaine was supposedly there to do homework with Kurt, but they were on the bed, making out.

"I thought you didn't like Finn," Kurt told Blaine. The truth was, other than the fact that Finn wanted Rachel, Kurt was warming up to Finn. And if McKinley wasn't such a closed-minded school, Kurt would let Finn have Rachel so he and Blaine could be together.

"I'm not supposed to, but he seems nice," Blaine admitted.

"Yeah," Kurt said as he and Blaine kissed several times.

"How long are we going to keep doing this in private?" Blaine asked.

"Until the school becomes more open-minded," Kurt said. "If we went public with this, Karofsky and Azimio would do to us what we used to do to Finn."

"Do you think Finn likes Rachel?" Blaine asked.

"I know he likes Rachel," Kurt said. He heard a knock on his door and heard footsteps coming downstairs. "Kurt?"

"oh crap," Kurt mumbled. What would happen if his dad walked in on him and Blaine in bed together? His dad didn't know he was gay. Ever since his mom died, Kurt and his dad got more and more distant. Kurt sat up, Blaine doing the same just as Burt came down.

"Hi Blaine," Burt said, looking at the rumpled sheets of the bed. "Didn't know you'd be coming over today."

"We're making plans for the football game," Kurt said.

"Okay," Burt said. "Who are you playing in the game?"

"Carmel," Kurt said. "The good news is we have a new kicker, so that might help."

"That's good," Burt said, still eyeing the messy sheets. "Kurt, was Rachel here earlier?"

Crap. Burt knew something was going on in Kurt's bed. "Yeah, she was."

Burt looked more at the sheets. "I guess that I can't really control what you guys do, but you've never asked me for advice on finding the right kind of protection..."

"It's fine, Dad, she's on the pill," Kurt snapped. What if his dad knew that he was gay? He was looking at Kurt's rumpled clothes suspiciously.

"Okay," Burt said. "If you two need anything, I'm upstairs."

"Do you think he knows?" Kurt asked Blaine.

"I don't know," Blaine said. "I've never told anyone."

"I know," Kurt admitted.

"We can't keep this a secret much longer," Blaine said. "Sooner or later, people will find out."

"But they don't know," Kurt said, hoping that they wouldn't.

x

Quinn sat in her bathroom, waiting for the timer to go off and feeling absolutely panicked. What if she was pregnant? She and Puck had barely talked. She thought he seemed nice at times, but he could also be rude and obnoxious... and she had no idea what he would be like as a boyfriend. He'd cleaned her family's pool a few times, so at least she knew he had some decent money.

The alarm went off, and Quinn looked at the tests.

All three revealed that yes, she was pregnant.

Quinn collapsed in her bathroom to cry. She couldn't tell her parents, but she wished she could.

x

"Puck!"

Puck turned when he saw Quinn coming up to him at school the next day. He'd enjoyed the time he spent with Quinn at the party. For some reason, he'd always wondered what sex would be like. He was drunk when he and Quinn had sex, but he was pretty sure he'd liked it.

"Hey, what's up?" Puck asked.

"We need to talk, in private," Quinn demanded.

"Okay," Puck said, wondering what Quinn was thinking.

Quinn led Puck into an empty classroom. "I'm pregnant. With your kid."

Puck couldn't believe what Quinn had just said. "What?"

"Yeah," Quinn continued. "Remember Kurt's party? We had sex..."

"Yeah..." Puck continued. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Quinn was pregnant with his baby.

"Well, you're the only person I've ever had sex with," Quinn said.

"You're not on the pill?" Puck asked.

"No," Quinn said. "What do you expect? It's not like most guys would have sex with me..."

Puck felt guilty. "I'm sorry. What are you going to do?"

"I just found out," Quinn rambled. "You're the only one who knows. I can't tell my parents, they'd disown me..."

"Well, what do you want to do?" Puck asked, wondering what he should do.

"I don't know!" Quinn repeated.

"Well, if there's anything you want from me to help, just let me know," Puck said.

"Thank you," Quinn mumbled, coming over to hug Puck.

x

Finn did some stretching, not sure if he was ready for this. It had probably been a fluke that he'd been doing well in practice. He looked up at his mom in the stands, standing next to Kurt's dad. He smiled and waved at her. "Hey, you okay?" a voice said, interrupting Finn's thoughts.

He turned and saw Kurt, Blaine and Artie. "Yeah, I think so."

"You'll be fine," Kurt said. "Just do things like we practiced."

"Thanks guys," Finn said.

"Is one of you two dating him now?" a voice said. Finn turned and saw Dave Karofsky.

"Like it or not, I'm on this team now," Finn snapped at Karofsky.

"Oh, we'll see if you still are after this game," Karofsky said.

The whistle blew to line up for the anthem, and McKinley was neck-in-neck with the other team for most of the other team for most of the game. By the end, the game was tied, but McKinley had just scored a touchdown.

It all came down to Finn. If he could score an extra point, they'd win. Finn took the center of the field with Kurt.

"You okay?" Kurt whispered.

"Terrified," Finn whispered.

"It's okay, just like we practiced," Kurt said.

"Okay," Finn gulped. As Kurt held the ball, Finn kicked, and the ball went through the field goal.

McKinley had won.

The audience began cheering, and Finn couldn't help but smile. He'd done it. He'd won a game for McKinley.

He looked across the field, where Rachel was standing with the cheerios. Rachel gave him a big smile, and he couldn't help but return it.

x

Finn may have won the game, but he was still being ignored and mistreated at school. Maybe what Rachel said had been true. Maybe holding a popular position didn't make you popular.

He hadn't been hit by any slushies today. At least that was progress.

As Finn arrived in glee club, Rachel came up and smiled. "Congratulations on the game the other night."

Finn smiled. "Thanks."

"You were really good," Rachel said.

"Your routines were pretty cool too," Finn said.

"Thanks," Rachel said. They shared an awkward smile. There was so much more Finn wanted to do... but he couldn't.

Mr. Schue arrived. "Anyone have any songs for our assignment today?"

"Yes, I do," Rachel said. She went up to perform her song, and to Finn's surprise, she kept looking at him.

 _Don't know much about your life.  
Don't know much about your world, but  
Don't want to be alone tonight,  
On this planet they call earth.  
You don't know about my past, and  
I don't have a future figured out.  
And maybe this is going too fast.  
And maybe it's not meant to last,  
But what do you say to taking chances,  
What do you say to jumping off the edge?  
Never knowing if there's solid ground below  
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,  
What do you say,  
What do you say?  
I just want to start again,  
And maybe you could show me how to try,  
And maybe you could take me in,  
Somewhere underneath your skin?  
What do you say to taking chances,  
What do you say to jumping off the edge?  
Never knowing if there's solid ground below  
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,  
What do you say,  
What do you say?  
And I had my heart beating down,  
But I always come back for more, yeah.  
There's nothing like love to pull you up,  
When you're laying down on the floor there.  
So talk to me, talk to me,  
Like lovers do.  
Yeah walk with me, walk with me,  
Like lovers do,  
Like lovers do.  
What do you say to taking chances,  
What do you say to jumping off the edge?  
Never knowing if there's solid ground below  
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,  
What do you say,  
What do you say?  
Don't know much about your life  
And I don't know much about your world_

Finn couldn't help but think about Rachel's song choice. Was she thinking of taking a chance with him? She was looking at him a lot...

x

Finn wasn't the only one who had taken the title of the song Rachel chose seriously. Kurt was thinking... he himself had taken some chances lately. He'd taken a risk by helping Finn join the football team, and he'd been thinking a lot about what Blaine had said. He couldn't keep his sexuality a secret forever.

When he got home from school, his dad was there. "That was a really good game the other night," Burt said. "Blaine's mom actually told me you recruited that Finn guy."

"Yeah, he's a good player," Kurt said.

"He seems to be," Burt said.

Kurt gulped. "Dad... I need to tell you something."

Burt looked at Kurt. "I'm gay," Kurt said. He'd never exactly said that. With Blaine they'd told each other without saying anything.

Burt looked at Kurt. "I have had my suspicions. You did ask for a pair of sensible heels for your third birthday..."

"Please don't stop loving me," Kurt told Burt.

"Who else knows?" Burt asked.

"Just Blaine," Kurt said. He wasn't ready to tell his dad about him and Blaine yet though. "Please don't tell people... I'm not ready for people to know yet."

"I still love you," Burt said. "And I'm glad you're being honest with me about it."

Kurt gave his dad a hug. "Thank you."

"But Kurt, it's not fair to Rachel to pretend to be her boyfriend if you don't like her like that," Burt said.

Kurt didn't know what to say. He knew what his school was like. "Dad, I'm not ready for people to know."

"I'm not saying you need to tell her you're gay," Burt said. "But you shouldn't pretend to be something you aren't."

Maybe his dad was right. And Kurt was glad his dad had been accepting. Part of him was afraid his dad would throw him out. He didn't know what would happen if he revealed it at school. But at least he still had love at home.


	5. Chapter 5: The Rhodes Not Taken

_Hey guys. First of all, I owe you all a big, big apology. I don't typically go this long without updating. Life just got in the way. I had a family wedding, then school started. I've never been in school full time AND working full time at the same time, and it's definitely taken some getting used to. Additionally, I've been really sick lately. I'm so, so sorry. The good news is I'm already at work on the next chapter of this story, and I have a new chapter of my Season 7 ready to post sometime within the next few days :) I feel horrible for what I did, but I hope you understand. Enjoy and review if I should keep going._

The Rhodes Not Taken

Rachel tightened her ponytail in the bathroom, making sure it looked how she knew Coach Sylvester wanted it to look. She was getting so sick of the cheerios uniform. Kurt was getting sick of it too, and he let Rachel know it. As Rachel heard coughs coming from the bathroom, she began wondering who it was. She knocked on the door of the bathroom stall she heard the coughs coming from. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," a voice snapped.

Rachel recognized that voice. It was Quinn's. "Quinn?"

Quinn came out of the bathroom. "I said I'm fine, Berry..."

Quinn certainly hadn't sounded fine. "Hey, you didn't sound fine," Rachel said. "I have some tylenol in my locker if you need some..."

"This is to be expected when you're pregnant," Quinn snapped before she looked horrified. "Oh, crap, now you're probably going to make my life a living hell."

Rachel hadn't believed what she'd just heard. Quinn Fabray, the president of the celibacy club, the girl with strong faith, was pregnant? "What?"

"I guess you were going to find out sooner or later," Quinn groaned. "So please avoid my stomach if you slushie me..."

Was that really what people thought of Rachel? "I'm not going to slushie you," Rachel said. "And if you don't want people to know, I won't tell anyone."

Quinn gave Rachel a confused look. "Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you would hate me."

"I don't," Rachel said. "Like I said, I won't tell people."

"Thanks," Quinn said. "You're the first person to find out, other than Puck..."

"Puck?" Rachel asked.

"He's the father," Quinn sighed.

"I didn't even know you two were together," Rachel admitted.

"We aren't really," Quinn sighed. "We had a hookup at the glee club party a few weeks ago..."

"You should probably tell your parents," Rachel told Quinn. "I mean, they could help you out, and get you to a doctor..."

"Pssshh!" Quinn snapped. "My parents are going to disown me when they find out. They don't believe in sex before marriage. Especially when they find out that the father is Jewish..."

"Hey, I'm sure they won't," Rachel said. She knew that if this was her, her dads would be upset and probably angry, but they wouldn't throw her out of the house or anything like that.

"You don't know my parents!" Quinn declared.

"Okay," Rachel said. "But if you ever need someone, I'm here."

Quinn managed to smile. "Thanks."

x

Mr. Schuester was late to glee club today. He was supposedly bring in a special guest. Everyone was wondering who it was - but Santana was focused on Brittany right now.

Sure, Brittany was kind of dumb - okay, she'd just barely made it to the tenth grade and gotten Ds in all her classes in ninth grade - but she was so pretty, and funny, and she had a good body... and the talk show she had online was brilliant.

Santana knew Brittany had a crush on Artie though. Santana and Brittany had been best friends since kindergarten, they told each other everything. Well, everything except that Santana was in love with Brittany. And her brief relationship with Finn had confirmed for her that Brittany was the one she wanted.

Mr. Schuester came in with a blond woman. A very attractive blond woman. "Everyone, this is April Rhodes," Mr. Schuester announced. "The most talented McKinley glee club member in history."

Holy crap, this woman was hot. Wait, Santana probably shouldn't think like that. "She's also our newest member!" Mr. Schue said.

"What?" Quinn asked. "I thought she graduated."

"I dropped out before I graduated, so I'm coming back to finish my GED," April said.

"And since as you guys can see, we're down a member, we need all the help we can get for our performance this weekend," Mr. Schue said. "It's our first public performance, and we need all the help we can get."

Santana looked around the room. "Wait, where's Finn?"

"Finn left," Mr. Schue said.

"What?" Sam asked. "Mr. Schue, no way can we get to Sectionals without Finn. He's our best singer."

"Yeah, Trouty Mouth's right," Blaine said. "Why did Finn leave?"

"That's Finn's personal business," Mr. Schue said. "Since Finn left quite a void, I did invite April to join us."

The glee club exchanged disappointed looks. They knew Finn was more than just their best singer. He was the heart of the glee club. Why had he left? And why hadn't he told anyone?

x

Kurt, Blaine and Artie weren't at practice for football today because Mr. Schue had called for an extra glee club meeting. Finn wished he was there. He was enjoying football more than he thought he would, but he already regretted his decision to quit glee. At least today the guys were leaving him alone though. Finn's mind flashed back to yesterday's practice...

x

As Finn began packing up his locker, Karofsky and Azimio dumped the water cooler over Finn's head. Finn felt soaked and humiliated, but he turned to the guys. "What the hell was that for?" Finn asked. "Why are you guys still picking on me?"

"You think you're one of us," Karofsky said. "You're not. I bet you thought joining the football team would mean you weren't a loser anymore."

"Well, you still are a loser, you glee boy!" Azimio said.

They were still picking on him even though he was in glee club? "Kurt, Blaine and Artie are in glee club!"

"Yeah, but they were here first!" Karofsky said. "They've proven that they're not just losers, but I never liked them anyway."

"You're a loser," Azimio said. "Always have been and always will be."

Finn was tired of the abuse. He was tired of people making him feel bad about himself. They'd talked about him being a loser because he was in glee club. Maybe if he left glee club, the abuse would stop.

x

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Mr. Schue had asked.

"I'm sorry," Finn sighed. "I love glee club, but I'm tired of being picked on."

"Finn..." Mr. Schue began. "I know high school seems like your whole life now, but it's going to be over before you know it. When you look back on your time here, do you want to remember it as a time when you just tried to be who society expected you to be?"

"I've been being who I want to be for fifteen years," Finn told Mr. Schue. "And it's made me into the biggest loser in the school. People talk about me behind my back and I spend almost all my free time alone or with my mom. I'm sorry, Mr. Schue."

x

The football guys weren't talking to him though. They may not have picked on him today, but they weren't including him. And Finn couldn't stop thinking about glee - what were they doing? Who was getting to sing with Rachel now?

"Hey." Finn's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Rachel coming over.

"Hey," Finn said. "On your way to cheerios practice?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I was sorry to hear you left glee."

Did Finn really want to explain why to Rachel? "Well, I'm tired of being picked on."

To Finn's surprise, Rachel didn't start lecturing him like Mr. Schue had. "I understand."

"You do?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I just wanted to let you know I still want to be friends... and that I'm looking forward to cheering you on in football games."

Finn managed to smile. "Thanks."

"I'll see you around," Rachel said as she left. Finn watched Rachel leave, already missing her and the glee club.

Kurt, Blaine and Artie arrived for practice. "Hi," Finn said. "How's glee?"

"Mr. Schue brought in the star of the glee club from when he was there," Artie said. "I guess she never graduated, so he thinks that she can help us get to Sectionals."

"Wait, what?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Blaine said. "Isn't she a bit old to be in the glee club?"

"That's crazy," Finn said.

"We agree, but she is an amazing singer," Artie said. "Well, we'll see you around."

Finn had to admit, he did feel bad. He was hoping he'd be asked to come back. But they'd found someone to replace him.

x

April Rhodes brought something to the glee club, all right, but Rachel didn't feel like it was the same without Finn there. For one thing, now that the male/ female ratio was mismatched, she was often not paired with anyone for dance numbers. God, she missed being paired with Finn.

April was a good singer - Rachel couldn't deny that. Hell, as hard as it was for Rachel to say this - April was a better singer than she was. But surprisingly, she didn't mind singing backup when she didn't have Finn to sing lead with.

As Rachel left a glee club meeting, she kept thinking about how much she missed Finn. She looked in the library and saw him working on his homework, deciding to go in and talk to him. "Hey."

"Hey," Finn said.

Rachel tried to think of something to say. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Finn sighed. He looked at his homework. "This paper isn't going how I'd like it to go..."

Rachel looked at Finn. He looked so stressed. She didn't see him looking like this when he was in glee. She knew he loved singing and drumming, and now that he didn't have that opportunity to let loose, he was bogged by the pressures of school, football and unpopularity. "You know what you and I should do?" Rachel asked.

"Elope?" Finn asked.

Rachel couldn't believe what Finn had just said. "What?"

Finn looked down. "Nothing."

"How about we go bowling?" Rachel asked. She had to giggle at what Finn had said, but at the same time - marrying him didn't sound like a bad idea down the road.

"Yeah, that'd be fun," Finn said.

"So, I'll pick you up on Saturday?" Rachel asked.

"Sounds great," Finn said.

x

"Why do we have to do this here?" Blaine asked as he and Kurt lay in the projection room above the auditorium, making out.

"My dad knows now," Kurt said. "He knows I'm gay and he thinks I should tell Rachel. If we keep doing it at my house, he might tell her. We do have the option of your house..."

"My parents don't even know," Blaine said. "We can't do this yet..."

Kurt leaned in and kissed Blaine. This felt much better than making out with Rachel did and he wished they could walk hand in hand down the hall together. But the truth was - ever since Finn had joined the football team, Kurt was fearing losing his quarterback spot. Finn was a good player - maybe better than Kurt. If Finn wasn't a social outcast, he probably would have been the quarterback by now. Some of the guys complained to Coach Tanaka about Finn being on the team. No one would take Finn seriously if he became quarterback. But if Kurt came out, he wouldn't be quarterback either.

"I think I might be ready to come out," Blaine said. "Not to everyone, but to my parents, and maybe some of our friends..."

"No," Kurt said. "Blaine, if you come out, people will be suspicious about me. We're always together..."

"You're with Rachel," Blaine said.

Kurt and Blaine heard a knock on the door. They quickly pulled apart as Kurt went to the door and looked out the door, noticing someone walking down the hall.

"What was that?" Blaine asked.

"Someone must have made a wrong turn," Kurt said, sighing with relief. If someone had seen him and Blaine making out, it would really be over.

x

"Where are Kurt and Blaine?" Sam asked. "We have our first performance this weekend and they have big parts in our first number."

"I think I saw them making out in that projection room above the auditorium," April said, sounding drunk.

Santana had a feeling this was true. Kurt had been giving her gay vibes. She wondered what to say, but she couldn't say anything revealing that she, too, was gay. She looked for Rachel, looking for her reaction, but Rachel wasn't there.

"Are you sure it was them?" Sam asked.

"Well, I'm a little drunk, but it looked like them," April said.

"Well, Artie, you're their best friend, have you suspected anything?" Mercedes asked.

"I hope Blaine's not gay, he's so hot!" Tina squealed.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't suspect anything," Artie admitted. "When the three of us hang out, they often do sit very close to each other... and they like to watch Broadway shows all the time. Occasionally I can get Blaine to play video games and watch sports with me, but not Kurt, even though he plays football. Kurt also loves shopping, and he comments on clothes a lot. Even when I watch sports with Blaine, he often says he wishes he looked more like some of the athletes."

"Holy crap!" Lauren exclaimed. "They are gay!"

"Told you guys," April said.

"Maybe we shouldn't be talking about this," Santana said. Sure, she wasn't a stereotypical lesbian, but did people suspect things about her, too?

"From what I can hear, this conversation is completely inappropriate," Mr. Schuester said. "If Kurt and Blaine found out that you were saying this about them, their feelings would be hurt."

"April started it," Sam said.

"Well, April, you should be setting an example for these kids," Mr. Schuester reprimanded. "Kurt and Blaine better not hear about this... or Rachel, where is she?"

"She said she had plans today," Mercedes said.

"Okay," Mr. Schue said. "Let's get started."

x

Rachel pulled up to Finn's house. She couldn't wait for her night out with Finn - like a date, though not really a date. She was taking tonight off of glee practice to hang out with Finn, but she didn't care. After all, she didn't have solos in any of the big numbers for the performance this weekend. One was mostly Kurt and Blaine, one was mostly Artie, Mercedes and Tina, and one was mostly April. Before Finn left glee, they'd been working on a number that she and Finn were leading, but after Finn left, Mr. Schue replaced it with the number featuring April.

Rachel went up to Finn's door and rang the bell. A woman Rachel assumed to be Finn's mom came to the door. "Mrs. Hudson, I'm here to pick up Finn," Rachel said, managing a smile.

"Oh, hi honey, come on in," Finn's mom said.

"I'm Rachel, by the way," Rachel said. "Finn and I were in glee club together..."

"I'm surprised he quit," Mrs. Hudson said. "He loved the glee club... he was always talking about how much he liked the songs you did and the people in it... I heard about you a lot, Rachel."

Rachel smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," Mrs. Hudson said. "He probably wouldn't like it if I told you..."

Finn came into the living room. "Hi Mom. Hi Rachel. Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, turning to Finn's mom. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hudson."

"You too honey," Mrs. Hudson said. "Have fun."

"Oh, we will," Finn said as he and Rachel left.

"Your mom's really nice," Rachel said as she and Finn left.

"Yeah, she and I are really close," Finn said. "We always have been. Maybe because my dad died when I was a baby..."

Rachel felt sorry for Finn. She did feel the lack of a mom, but at least she had two parents who loved her. "I'm sorry, Finn."

Finn shrugged. "So, how's glee?"

"Well, that woman Mr. Schue had come is a little crazy," Rachel said. "She's a good singer, but she's drunk a lot..."

Finn looked down. "I do miss glee."

"We miss you too," Rachel said.

Finn shook his head. "They probably miss my voice and my drumming."

"That's not true," Rachel said. "First and foremost, we miss having you with us, but we do miss those things. Mostly we just miss hanging out with you and spending time with you..."

"I do love glee, but I'm tired of being picked on," Finn admitted.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, we'd love to have you back," Rachel told Finn.

Finn smiled at Rachel as they arrived at the bowling alley. After some bowling, Rachel and Finn took a break for dinner. To Rachel's surprise, Finn was beating her. He said he didn't go very often, but Rachel wasn't sure if she believed that. When it came time to bowl the last ball, Rachel finally bowled a strike, and Finn began cheering. Rachel threw her arms around Finn, and without thinking, she kissed him again.

After the kiss, Rachel and Finn stared at each other. "I miss you," Rachel told Finn.

"I miss you too," Finn said.

"Maybe you can come to the show and see me perform tomorrow?" Rachel asked.

Finn smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that."

x

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Puck asked Quinn. It was the night of the show, and Puck and Quinn sat together in the choir room, talking.

"I'm only a few weeks along, Puck, I'm sure I'll be fine," Quinn sighed.

"Do you think anyone knows?" Puck asked.

Quinn wasn't sure if she should tell Puck. "Well, Rachel knows..."

"Rachel?" Puck asked. "Oh God! She's going to tell everyone..."

That had been Quinn's fear at first too, but Rachel was much nicer about it than she'd feared. "No, she was actually nice about it."

"Are you sure it wasn't just a charade?" Puck asked.

"Well, I like to think God puts some good in everyone," Quinn admitted.

"She is Jewish, after all," Puck said. "So maybe she isn't all bad."

Mr. Schue came over to Puck and Quinn. "Are you guys just about ready? We should start our first number..."

"But April's not here yet," Puck said.

"I keep trying to call her, but I can't get a hold of her," Mr. Schue said. "She's not in the first two, so we'll be fine."

"Just let me know if you need anything," Puck whispered to Quinn. Quinn had to admit, she liked how Puck was being so protective of her.

x

Finn sat in the audience, watching the glee club's performances. He was regretting more and more that he was up there. The crowd was loving this performance. Maybe the glee club weren't such losers after all. And even if he was a loser - so what? This was something he loved to do. He liked singing and drumming and the people in the club.

When there was a call for intermission, Finn decided to walk to the choir room. Even if he wasn't performing tonight, he was going to rejoin the glee club.

"Where's April?" Finn heard Sam say as he approached the room. "We need her for the last number."

"I have some bad news," Mr. Schue sighed. "April showed up too drunk to perform. It was a mistake bringing her back. Glee club should be about you guys, and by bringing April here, I was making it about me."

"But she sings the lead in the last number," Mercedes protested. "What will we do now?"

"I guess I'll go tell the audience the show's over..." Mr. Schue began.

Finn thought of an idea. "Wait!" he said, going into the room. "I have an idea. We were working on that number before I quit... and I thought it was a really good number, and the audience would love it. I still remember the song and the choreography..." When he saw the glee club giving him questioning looks, Finn went on rambling. "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have quit. I was being superficial, but this is where I want to be and what I want to be doing. And I know you guys liked that number, too."

Rachel smiled at Finn. "Well, it would be good to have you back."

"That is a good number," Sam admitted.

"I still remember how it goes," Santana said.

"I think it could work," Mike added.

Mr. Schue looked at Finn. "We ordered you a costume before you quit. It's in the changing room. Why don't you go get changed?"

Finn quickly changed into his costume before going on stage with the glee club. He'd missed singing with Rachel so much, and now he was finally getting to again. They'd picked this song together, and he could tell that the audience was enjoying it.

 _Finn: Can_

 _New Directions: Anybody find me somebody to love?_

 _Rachel: Ooooooh_

 _Each morning I get up I die a little_

 _Can barely stand on my feet_

 _Finn: Take a look,_

 _In the mirror and cry_

 _Lord what you're doing to me_

 _Rachel: I have spent all my years in believing you_

 _But I just can't get no relief, Lord_

 _Finn (New Directions): Somebody, (Somebody)_

 _Rachel and Finn with New Directions: Oooh somebody (Somebody)_

 _Can anybody find me_

 _Finn: Somebody to love?_

 _Artie (New Directions): I work hard (He works hard)_

 _Every day of my life_

 _Artie and Mercedes: I work till I ache in my bones_

 _Artie (New Directions): At the end (At the end of the day)_

 _Artie (New Directions): I take home my hard earned pay all on my own_

 _Rachel: I get down on my knees_

 _And I start to pray_

 _Rachel: 'Till the tears run down from my eyes,_

 _Finn (New Directions): Somebody, (Somebody)_

 _Finn and Rachel: Oooh somebody_

 _Rachel and Finn with New Directions: Can anybody find me_

 _Rachel: Somebody to love?_

 _Artie (New Directions): (He works hard) Everyday I try and I try and I try_

 _Rachel: But everybody wants to put me down_

 _They say I'm goin' crazy_

 _Finn: They say I got a lot of water in my brain_

 _Artie (New Directions): Got no common sense_

 _I got (His got) (with New Directions: nobody left to believe)_

 _No, Ooooooh (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)_

 _Finn (New Directions): (Ooooh, Lord) Oh, somebody (Somebody)_

 _Finn and Rachel: Oooh somebody_

 _Rachel and Finn with New Directions: Can anybody find me_

 _Rachel: Somebody to love_

 _New Directions: Can anybody find me someone to love?_

 _Finn: Got no feel, I got no rhythm_

 _I just keep losing my beat_

 _Rachel : I'm ok, I'm alright_

 _I ain't gonna face no defeat_

 _Finn and Rachel: I just gotta get out of this prison cell_

 _Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!_

 _New Directions:_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love (Finn: Oooooh)_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love (Mercedes: Heee, Oooh)_

 _Find me somebody to love (Artie: Somebody)_

 _Find me somebody to love, uh-oh, uh-oh (Finn: Oooooooh)_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love (Rachel: Ooh, Ooh)_

 _Somebody, Somebody!_

 _Somebody, Somebody! (Artie: Ooh, find me, find me, find me)_

 _Somebody, Somebody!_

 _Somebody, Find me somebody to love_

 _Can anybody find me..._

 _Mercedes: Somebody to love?!_

 _New Directions: Find me Somebody to love (Rachel: Somebody find me)_

 _Find me (Finn: Find me) Somebody to love (Rachel: Somebody find me)_

 _Find me (Rachel: Somebody to love) Somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love (Rachel: Somebody to love) (Finn: Loove)_

 _Find me (Mercedes: Uuuuh) Somebody to love (Rachel: Somebody to love)_

 _Find me (Finn: Somebody to love) Somebody to love_

 _Rachel: Find me (New Directions: Find me)_

 _Somebody (New Directions: Somebody) To (Finn: To)_

 _Finn and Rachel with New Directions: Oooh, Love!_

Rachel and Finn kept smiling at each other throughout the number, the types of smiles they only had for each other. It was the happiest Finn had felt in weeks, and the happiest he'd seen Rachel since Don't Stop Believing. At the end of the number, Finn gave Rachel a big hug, and he saw the other glee club members giving him grateful smiles.

He now knew he'd made the right choice. He was where he belonged.


	6. Chapter 6: Vitamin D

_Hey everyone. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding with the slow updates while I'm in school. I hope this was worth the wait and the new chapter of my Season 7 that'll be up in a few days is worth the wait. Before I get to the story, though, I want to bring something to your attention. Because of some very nasty messages I was receiving, and because some of my controversial opinions were upsetting people, my fanfic Tumblr is locked until further notice. I may bring it back eventually, but I don't know. If anyone has any questions about this, you can PM me. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and review if I should keep going :)_

Vitamin D

Mr. Schuester had announced the competition for Sectionals. The New Directions would be competing against a school for the deaf and an all girls reform school. No one wanted to say it out loud, but when one looked at those schools' resources, the New Directions had this in the bag. At least that was what Rachel thought.

No matter who they were competing against, Rachel had a feeling that they'd do well at Sectionals. Their performance at the invitational had been pretty great... she thought. She was surprised by how good her boyfriend sounded with Blaine on the first number... almost as good as she thought she herself sounded with him. She was surprised that Mercedes and Tina had been willing to lead the second number, but they'd sounded good with Artie. And she thought that on the last number, she and Finn had sounded best of all.

She was glad Finn had come back. She'd definitely missed him. And she wouldn't have thought this if someone had said this to her a while ago, but she was really starting to like the other kids in the glee club... even the ones who were considered losers.

But with glee, cheerios and school taking up so much of her time, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed. She was still getting perfect grades, but she was getting less and less sleep.

"Rachel!"

Rachel's thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Schue spoke. "What?"

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Mr. Schue asked. "We're having a boys vs. girls competition. You're each going to put together a mashup to perform next week, and then the winner will choose a number for Sectionals."

"And tell your boyfriend that he's on the guys' team," Mercedes said.

"Hey, I wanted to be with all the hot girls," Kurt said.

What was this supposed to mean? Kurt was spending less and less time with Rachel. Luckily, Blaine took Kurt's arm and dragged him over to the boys' side.

All the hot girls? Of course, she was no saint when it came to what was going on with Kurt. As far as she knew, Kurt didn't know about what had happened at the bowling alley or in the auditorium...

Rachel pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she went to join the other girls.

x

"Did you see how Kurt wanted to join us?" Brittany asked Santana as they sat in Santana's bedroom that afternoon after glee practice. "I bet that April lady was right. He's probably gay."

"Maybe," Santana said. She didn't know what to say. Brittany didn't know yet that she herself was gay. Brittany also didn't know that Santana loved her. Santana was sure Kurt was gay, yes, but what if Brittany didn't like gay people? "So, what if he is?"

"Well... I don't know," Brittany said. "Good for him, I guess. I don't have anything against gay people, but I've never met a gay person."

Yes, Brittany had met a gay person. She was talking to one right now. "So it wouldn't make you like Kurt less if he was gay?"

"Well... he isn't very nice," Brittany said. "You see those comments that he's left on my Fondue For Two videos."

"Has he left any since he joined glee?" Santana asked. "I haven't seen any." And Santana would know. She always read every comment on every single one of Brittany's videos.

"Well, no," Brittany admitted. "And he's not as evil as some of the other guys on the football team, like Dave Karofsky."

"True," Santana said. Maybe she should tell Brittany. After all, they were talking about this. "Britt..."

"What?" Brittany asked.

Santana tried to work up the courage to say it. "I..."

"What?" Brittany asked again.

"Nothing," Santana sighed.

"Okay," Brittany said. "I've got to get home to watch my sister, but I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Okay," Santana said. She wished that Brittany wasn't leaving, that she could just stay here. That the two of them could just lock themselves in here. If it was this hard to tell Brittany she loved her, she could never say it publicly. At school, she was made fun of enough for speaking Spanish sometimes, and Brittany was made fun of enough for not being very bright.

Santana's mom, Maribel, came downstairs shortly after Brittany left. "Hi, honey," Maribel said. "We've been seeing a lot of Brittany lately."

Oh no. Did Maribel know? "She's my friend!" Santana defended. "Can't I hang out with friends?"

"Of course," Maribel said. "I know you were having trouble making friends at first..."

Santana sighed with relief. She and her mom had always been close. But she knew her parents were very traditional. What would her mom think if she found out she was gay?

x

"I think we should do It's My Life by Bon Jovi and Confessions by Usher," Finn told the guys.

"Yeah, those are good songs," Sam said.

"Can't we do something else?" Kurt asked. He didn't think those songs would work with his voice range. He wasn't into lots of the songs the other guys liked. Why couldn't they do a Broadway song?

"What did you have in mind?" Blaine asked.

Then Kurt remembered he couldn't make people suspect he was gay. "Nothing. So, what should we wear?"

Blaine gave Kurt a look. Great. That was probably even a weirder thing to say. "Well, the girls will probably go all out..." Kurt said.

"Let's just all wear black pants, white shirts and black jackets," Artie suggested.

"Okay," Kurt grumbled. He didn't know what else to say.

Kurt was giving Blaine and Artie a ride home when Blaine finally spoke. "You know, we don't have to keep this a secret forever."

"Keep what a secret?" Artie asked.

Kurt looked at Blaine. Artie was their best friend. Maybe they should tell him. "Well..." Kurt began, trying to think of what to say.

"Wait... so April Rhodes was right?" Artie asked.

"Right about what?" Blaine asked.

"She said that you two were involved in a secret relationship," Artie said.

Kurt didn't know what to say. How had that crazy woman found out? "She knew?" He immediately regretted his choice of words.

"So it's true?" Artie asked.

"Yeah," Blaine said. "We should have told you..."

"It's fine, I'm still your friend," Artie said. "And I had my suspicions..."

"Well, please don't tell anyone," Blaine said. "Kurt isn't ready for people to know."

"Are you saying you're ready to come out?" Kurt asked.

"Mostly," Blaine said. "I mean, I'm afraid of what might happen, but we don't know what's going to happen. There aren't any out kids at our school, so there's no way to know..."

"That's why I don't want to come out," Kurt said.

"Well, everyone was there when she said that except Rachel," Artie said.

"Good," Kurt said. "But deny it if anyone says anything. And Rachel can't know about this in particular. If she finds out she'll go running into Finn's arms."

x

"Rachel... Rachel!" Mercedes nudged Rachel.

Rachel was half asleep. She hadn't realized how tired she was.

"Do you have any ideas for songs to do for the mashup?" Brittany asked. "My grades may suck, but I know you're our best singer..."

Rachel paused to think. "How about Halo and Walking on Sunshine?"

The girls seemed to like that idea. "You look really out of it," Tina told Rachel. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Rachel said.

"You do look under the weather," Quinn told Rachel. "Are you sick?"

"I'm fine," Rachel yawned.

"Why don't you go to the nurse?" Mercedes asked. "We can practice our number later."

"Okay," Rachel yawned again as she walked to the nurse's office. The nurse wasn't someone she recognized though. It was a blond woman. "Uh... are you a sub?"

"I'm the new nurse, Mrs. Schuester," the woman said.

"Oh, are you related to Mrs. Schuester?" Rachel asked. "I'm Rachel Berry, I'm in his Spanish class and I'm in the glee club with him..."

"Oh, I've heard about you," Mrs. Schuester said. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I feel fine, I'm just tired," Rachel admitted. "I have a lot going on... cheerios, glee club, classes..."

"When I was in high school, I captained the cheerleading squad, I kept a perfect 4.0 GPA, I cultivated my popularity, and I maintained a loving relationship with the boy who would become my husband. Wow. I don't even know how I did that," Mrs. Schuester rattled on. "Wait a minute. Yes, I do. Pseudo-ephedrine. It's the stuff they put in decongestants to make them non-drowsy. It's kind of like a... Well, like a vitamin. I would pop two of these blue meanies every morning and then I would be a firecracker for the rest of the day." She took out a bottle and handed one to Rachel. "Want one?"

x

Rachel was surprised by how much energy she had after taking the Vitamin D. The day after she took the Vitamin, she finished all her homework that was due that week and put together a new cheerios routine. When it came time for glee practice, Rachel went into the room, enough for all the other girls. "Hey girls! Ready to do the number?"

"We don't even have a number put together yet," Lauren said.

"Oh, I already choreographed it and came up with who will sing which parts!" Rachel said. "Oh, and I was thinking we should all wear a bright yellow dress..."

"Okay, what's up with you?" Santana asked. "Yesterday you were falling asleep, and now you're all hyper..."

"Hey, I got a little something!" Rachel said. "Vitamin D. And I got some for you girls, too."

"Uh, I don't think that I can take that," Quinn said.

Rachel remembered that she couldn't say anything about Quinn's pregnancy. "Okay, then you can find something else you can take, and if you can't think of anything else, then it's fine because Mercedes and I are leading it!"

"Well, we can try this for the number," Santana admitted.

x

The next day, the girls already had their number ready. Finn couldn't believe it. The guys' number was coming along, but they weren't ready to perform yet. Finn watched the girls perform and noticed how pretty Rachel looked. He also couldn't help but notice how much energy the girls had... maybe too much. They were good... but was it too good?

 _Rachel: Oh,_

 _Remember those walls I built_

 _Well, baby they're tumbling down_

 _They didn't even put up a fight_

 _They didn't even make a sound_

 _It's like I've been awakened_

 _Every rule I had you breakin'_

 _It's the risk that I'm takin'_

 _I ain't never gonna shut you out_

 _New Directions Girls: Everywhere I'm looking now_

 _I'm surrounded by your embrace_

 _Baby I can see your halo_

 _You know you're my saving grace (Mercedes: I'm walking on sunshine)_

 _You're everything I need and more (Mercedes: Whoa oh)_

 _It's written all over your face (Mercedes: I'm walking on sunshine)_

 _Baby I can feel your halo (Mercedes: Whoa oh! And don't it feel good!)_

 _New Directions Girls: I can feel your halo (Rachel: Halo) (Mercedes: Halo)_

 _I can see your halo (Rachel: Halo) (Mercedes: Halo!)_

 _I can feel your halo (Rachel: Halo) (Mercedes: Ha-a-a-alo) (Rachel: I'm walking on sunshine, woah)_

 _I can see your halo (Rachel: Halo) (Mercedes: I'm walking on sunshine, woah)_

 _And don't it feel good!_

 _Rachel: I used to think maybe you loved me_

 _Now baby I'm sure_

 _And I just can't wait 'till the day_

 _When you knock on my door_

 _New Directions girls: I'm walking on sunshine, woah!_

 _I'm walking on sunshine, woah!_

 _I'm walking on sunshine, woah oh oh!_

 _And don't it feel good!_

 _I can feel your halo (Mercedes: Hey!) halo (Rachel: Halo!) halo (Mercedes: Alright now!)_

 _I can see your halo (Mercedes: Hey!) halo halo (Mercedes: Oh, yeah!)_

 _I can feel your halo (Mercedes: Hey!) halo halo (Rachel: Halo-oo!)_

 _I can see your halo (Mercedes: Hey!) halo halo (Mercedes: Halo-oo)_

 _I can feel your halo halo  
I can see your halo_

 _Halo!_

Finn applauded at the end of the number, but he was still suspicious.

x

Rachel reached into her locker to have some more Vitamin D. She'd gotten some more, and she was feeling more energized than ever.

"Ah ha!" Rachel turned and saw Finn at her locker.

"I knew it!" Finn said. "I knew you girls had something in your cups... what is that? An energy pill?"

"What?" Rachel asked, trying to cover it up. She knew Finn was smart... but had he really figured this out?

"Oh, don't play dumb," Finn continued. "You were practically falling asleep this week in glee club and then practically overnight, you and the girls have a perfect number put together. Uh huh."

Rachel didn't know what to say. "Finn... are you still mad at me?"

Finn ignored that comment. "Look Rachel, you've got two choices. Tell me what you're taking, and I'm going to get some for me and the guys so the competition can be on equal ground... or I'm going to tell Mr. Schue that you and the girls took performance enhancers and get you guys disqualified."

"You wouldn't do that!" Rachel gasped.

"Are you sure you want to take that risk?" Finn asked.

Rachel didn't want to lose points with Finn. After all, she wanted to be with him, but she couldn't... "Fine. It's Vitamin D. I got it from the school nurse."

x

Finn had taken the Vitamin D and given some to the other boys. And the next day, they were ready to perform their number. Finn admitted he thought they sounded pretty good... but he did still feel a bit guilty about taking the Vitamin D.

 _Finn: This ain't a song for the broken hearted_

 _No silent prayer for the faith departed_

 _And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd_

 _You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud_

 _New Directions Boys: It's my life!_

 _Finn: It's now or never_

 _I ain't gonna live forever_

 _New Directions boys: I just wanna live while I'm alive_

 _Finn: It's my life!_

 _New Directions Boys: These are my confessions_

 _Artie: Just when I thought I said all I can say_

 _My chick on the side said she got one on the way_

 _New Directions Boys: These are my confessions_

 _Artie: If I'm gonna tell it then I gotta tell it all_

 _Damn near cried when I got that phone call_

 _I'm so thrown, I don't know what to do_

 _But to give Part 2 of my_

 _Finn: You better stand tall_

 _When they're calling you out_

 _New Directions Boys: Don't bend, don't break_

 _Baby, don't back down_

 _These are my confessions_

 _Finn: It's now or never_

 _I ain't gonna live forever_

 _New Directions Boys: These are my confessions  
Finn: I just wanna live while I'm alive_

 _It's my life_

 _Artie: Just when I thought I said all I can say_

 _My chick on the side said she got one on the way_

 _New Directions Boys: These are my confessions_

 _I just wanna live while I'm alive!_

 _It's my life!_

At the end of the number, Mr. Schuester applauded the boys and said that he'd thought they sounded good, but Finn locked eyes with Rachel. He could tell she knew that they'd taken the pills.

x

"Nice mashup," Rachel told Finn in the hall the next day.

"Yeah, I liked yours too," Finn said.

"You know, I think you might have had something, too," Rachel said.

Finn knew this was a bad idea. It was a bad idea for the girls to do it, and it was a bad idea for the boys to do it. "I guess you're right."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I feel bad... and the new school nurse seems like all kinds of crazy."

"I know, right?" Finn said. He took a deep breath. "Maybe you and I should go to Mr. Schue and tell him about what happened... what we did."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "It was wrong of me to take those in the first place."

"Why did you take it anyway?" Finn asked. "That's not like you."

"I was just so overwhelmed," Rachel admitted. "With school and glee club and the cheerios... I didn't have much energy."

"Hey, we all make mistakes," Finn said. "Come on, let's go tell Mr. Schue."

Rachel smiled. "Okay. I must admit, I feel bad about it..."

As if Mr. Schue knew what was going on, he came over to Finn and Rachel. "Hey guys! You put together some great mashups."

"Actually, we wanted to talk to you," Finn said.

Mr. Schue looked confused. "Okay, let's go talk in my office."

Finn and Rachel followed Mr. Schue into the office. "Mr. Schue... I admit, we took Vitamin D before the performances..."

Mr. Schue looked shocked. "What?"

"It was my fault," Rachel said. "I was so tired and worn out, so I went to the nurse and she gave me some... and I had so much energy so I offered it to the other girls... I'm so, so sorry... and then Finn saw me taking it..."

Finn admitted that he'd done wrong, too. "So I asked Rachel for some so it could be even..."

Mr. Schue looked confused. "I don't get it. You guys are better than this."

"We are," Finn said. "And we're sorry..."

"You know this means that neither of your teams picks the setlist," Mr. Schue said.

"We know," Rachel said.

"We're sorry to be getting your wife in trouble," Finn admitted.

"She shouldn't have been giving drugs to students," Mr. Schue said. "Well, thank you for telling me, but if you do this again, the consequences will be more severe."

Finn and Rachel both didn't know what to say. They knew they were better than this, like Mr. Schue had said.


	7. Chapter 7: Throwdown

_Hey guys. Thank you all so much for all your support on the last chapter. It means a lot to me. I'll admit, I did have trouble making this one different since the love triangle was such a big part of the real episode, but I think I did well enough. Hope you enjoy the chapter and review if I should keep going!_

Throwdown

Quinn sat on the operating table at the doctor's office, waiting for the appointment to start. She'd been holding in a sliver of hope that this baby wasn't really there. That it was just a false positive. But she had all the symptoms she'd looked up online. She was sure that this really was happening. She had been throwing up every morning...

"You okay babe?" Puck asked.

He called her babe? Quinn didn't know what to think of that. But it felt good. And she liked the look he was giving her.

The doctor came in. "You're Quinn?"

"Yeah," Quinn said.

"So, is this your boyfriend?" the doctor asked.

Quinn didn't know how to answer that. "He's the father of the baby..."

"I'm Noah Puckerman," Puck told the doctor.

"Nice to meet you," the doctor said. "So, let's take a look. Do you two have any idea what you want to do when the baby gets here?"

"We aren't really sure yet," Puck admitted.

Quinn was glad that Puck had answered the question. She herself wasn't even sure. There was abortion, but she wasn't sure if she liked that idea. There was adoption, but she would miss the baby if that happened... why did this have to be so complicated?

The doctor put gel on Quinn's stomach and began scanning. Puck took Quinn's hand, and she had to admit, she liked how it felt. Finally, the doctor pointed to a spot on the screen. "See there? That's your baby."

"Wow," Quinn gasped. Even though the baby was still very tiny, she fell in love right away. She looked over at Puck, who also looked in awe.

"You said you don't know what you'll do yet?" the doctor asked.

"No, not yet," Quinn admitted.

"Well, I'm going to give you the phone numbers for the local chapter of Planned Parenthood," the doctor said, handing Quinn some cards. "If you want to give the baby up for adoption, I'm sure they could set you up with finding a family for your baby. But if you wanted to keep it, they could help you come up with a plan to make it work. Have your parents said anything about what they think you should do?"

The parents didn't even know. "They don't know yet," Puck began.

"Well, they could probably help you make a decision..." the doctor said.

"I want to tell my mom, but Quinn doesn't want me to..." Puck started to say.

"My parents are really religious, and they don't believe in sex before marriage," Quinn said.

"You're going to need to tell them sooner or later," the doctor warned. "The medical bills are going to be coming in and you're going to start showing."

"I can just say I gained weight," Quinn protested.

"Quinn..." Puck started to say.

"Even if the baby lived at his house if you ended up keeping it, your parents would have a feeling something was going on," the doctor interrupted. "If you did keep the baby, the baby would need to live with you so you could be around for feedings. But even if you give the baby up, your parents would suspect something when your water broke and you went into labor."

Quinn realized the doctor was right. Maybe she should have just gotten an abortion. Now that she'd seen the sonogram, there was no way she wanted to do that.

x

"Hey," Finn said, coming up to Rachel.

"Hey," Rachel said, smiling at Finn. "Ready for glee today?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "I just hope our teams aren't mad at us for telling the truth about the Vitamin D..."

"I'm sure Mr. Schue will come up with a good setlist for Sectionals," Finn admitted.

"Yeah, me too," Rachel said. However, when they arrived at glee practice, Sue Sylvester was there. "What are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I'm the assistant director now!" Coach Sylvester announced.

"What?" Rachel gasped. Why was she here? Frankly, Rachel was considering quitting the cheerios. She was tired of Coach Sylvester, and now she was in glee, too?

"After the incident with the Vitamin D, Principal Figgins wanted someone else around," Mr. Schue said, giving Finn and Rachel annoyed looks.

Rachel groaned. It was her fault that Coach Sylvester was here. She'd been the one to start with the Vitamin D...

"Okay," Coach Sylvester said. "I'm going to have a group do a number, and Mr. Schuester's going to have a group do a number for Sectionals. The following students have been selected for an elite group called Sue's Kids."

"I don't remember discussing this beforehand..." Mr. Schue told Coach Sylvester.

"Oh, we'll still be able to do a big group number all together at the end," Coach Sylvester said. "Like I said, these are Sue's Kids: Santana. Wheels. Porcelain. Young Burt Reynolds. Asian. Other Asian. Aretha."

Rachel had a feeling she knew what this was. Sue was trying to create tension by creating a group with students who could be classified as minorities... but wait, who were Porcelain and Young Burt Reynolds?

"Porcelain?" Kurt asked. "Young Burt Reynolds?"

"You and your minion," Sue said.

"But how do we count as minorities?" Blaine asked.

"I thought you two were gay," Coach Sylvester said.

"Blaine's not gay!" Tina shouted. "He's my boyfriend!"

"Yeah, and I'm dating Rachel," Kurt said.

"Yeah, sure," Coach Sylvester mumbled.

Coach Sylvester thought Kurt and Blaine were gay? Was Coach Sylvester trying to mock Rachel for joining glee? Ever since glee started, she'd been picking on Rachel at cheerios practice...

x

"I hope you know I'm not gay," Kurt told Rachel as they walked to glee practice the next day.

"I know," Rachel said. "You wouldn't be dating me if you were gay..."

"Right, even if you don't dress well," Kurt said.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I'm just messing with you," Kurt said. "But Rachel, why do you spend so much time with that Finn guy?"

"Because he's my friend..." Rachel began.

"I don't like the way you're spending so much time with him," Kurt snapped. "I think he likes you."

"Of course he does, we're friends," Rachel said. What was she supposed to say? She knew Finn had feelings for her. She had feelings for him, too. But she couldn't say that to Kurt.

"Don't play dumb," Kurt snapped. "He wants in your pants."

"That's ridiculous," Rachel said.

"Whatever," Kurt snapped. "Just so you know, our number will be better than yours."

"We'll see about that," Rachel said as Finn came over. "Hey!" she said when she saw Finn.

"Hey!" Finn said. "Excited to find out what our number will be?"

"Yeah, I hope we get to sing together," Rachel said.

"Me too," Finn said. They went into the choir room, where Mr. Schue was waiting with Sam, Puck, Lauren, Quinn and Brittany.

"Good, you two are here," Mr. Schue said. "You're going to take the leads in our song."

Rachel smiled to herself. At least she could sing with Finn.

x

Glee club wasn't the same without everyone there. Finn thought he didn't like the football players and cheerios, but the truth was, the glee club needed everyone in order to really work. Coach Sylvester insisted that her group perform first, and Finn had to admit, their number was good.

Then it was time for the number for Mr. Schue's group. When the group took the stage, Finn stared at Rachel. Their voices sounded amazing together, and he knew that this number could easily take Sectionals.

 _Quinn, Brittany, Sam, Puck and Lauren: Oh... Oh... Oh..._

 _Rachel: If I should die before I wake,_

 _It's 'cause you took my breath away_

 _Losing you is like_

 _Living in a world with no air_

 _Oh_

 _Finn: I'm here alone, don't wanna leave_

 _My heart won't move; it's incomplete_

 _Wish there was a way_

 _That I can make you understand_

 _Rachel: But how_

 _Do you expect me_

 _To live alone with just me_

 _'Cause my world revolves around you_

 _It's so hard for me to breathe_

 _Finn and Rachel with Quinn, Brittany, Sam, Puck and Lauren: Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air_

 _Can't live, can't breathe with no air_

 _It's how I feel whenever you ain't there_

 _It's no air, no air_

 _Got me out here in the water so deep_

 _Tell me how you gonna be without me_

 _If you ain't here, I just can't breathe_

 _It's no air, no air_

 _No air, air (Rachel: No)_

 _No air, air (Finn: No)_

 _No air, air (Rachel: No)_

 _No air, air_

 _Finn: I walked, I ran, I jumped, I flew_

 _Right off the ground to float to you_

 _There's no gravity to hold me down for real_

 _Rachel: But, somehow, I'm still alive inside_

 _You took my breath, but I survived_

 _I don't know how, but I don't even care_

 _Finn and Rachel: So how (Rachel: How)_

 _Do you expect me (Rachel: Me)_

 _To live alone with just me (Rachel: Oh)_

 _'Cause my world revolves around you_

 _It's so hard for me to breathe_

 _Finn and Rachel with Quinn, Brittany, Sam, Puck and Lauren: Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air (Rachel: Uh) (Finn: Oh)_

 _Can't live, can't breathe with no air (Rachel: Uh) (Finn: Oh)_

 _It's how I feel whenever you ain't there (Rachel: No air, air) (Finn: No air)_

 _It's no air, no air_

 _Got me out here in the water so deep (Rachel: So deep)_

 _Tell me how you gonna be without me (Finn: Without me, yeah!)_

 _If you ain't here, I just can't breathe (Rachel: Breathe, no) (Finn: No air...)_

 _It's no air, no air_

 _No air, air (Rachel: No)_

 _No air, air (Rachel: No)_

 _No air, air (Rachel: No)_

 _No air, air (Finn: No more)_

 _No, no, no, no air (Rachel: No)_

 _No, no, no, no air_

 _No, no, no, no air (Finn: Baby) (Rachel: No)_

 _No air, no air_

 _Finn: No_

 _Rachel: Yeah yeah yeah, no_

 _Finn and Rachel with_

 _No!_

 _Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air (Rachel: No air yeah) (Finn: No air)_

 _Can't live, can't breathe with no air (Rachel: Woah woah) (Finn: No air)_

 _It's how I feel whenever you ain't there (Rachel: Whenever you ain't there) (Finn: No breathing)_

 _It's no air, no air (Rachel: No breathing no)_

 _Got me out here in the water so deep (Rachel: So deep) (Finn: So deep)_

 _Tell me how you gonna be without me (Rachel: Without me) (Finn: Can't breathe without you baby)_

 _If you ain't here, I just can't breathe (Rachel: Breathe - no air)_

 _It's no air, no air_

 _No air, air (Rachel: Baby, no air)_

 _No air, air (Finn: No)_

 _No air, air (Finn: Hard for me to breathe)_

 _No air, air (Rachel: Oh)_

 _Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air (Rachel: No air)_

 _Can't live, can't breathe with no air (Rachel: No no)_

 _It's how I feel whenever you ain't there (Rachel: Not there )_

 _It's no air, no air_

 _Rachel: You got me out here in the water so deep_

 _Finn: Tell me how you gonna be without me_

 _Rachel: If you ain't here, I just can't breathe_

 _Finn and Rachel: It's no air, no air_

 _Sam, Puck, Lauren, Quinn and Brittany: No air, air (Rachel: No)_

 _No air, air (Finn: Oh, oh) (Rachel: Oh, oh)_

 _No air, air (Rachel: No air)_

 _Finn and Rachel: No air..._

"You guys suck!" Coach Sylvester shouted at the end of the number.

"Sue..." Mr. Schue began.

"You can't win Sectionals if you feature the big nosed traitor and that tall guy who can't dance," Coach Sylvester sneered.

"Rachel and Finn are the best singers in this club," Mr. Schuester said.

"Oh, and I'd think before having a pregnant girl on the stage at Sectionals, too," Coach Sylvester said, looking at Quinn.

Quinn looked at Rachel. "You told her?"

"No!" Rachel gasped. "I would never tell anyone! You told me not to!"

"She didn't need to tell me," Coach Sylvester said. "I have video surveillance of the entire school. I knew you were pregnant since you were always in the bathroom."

"Sue, stop it!" Mr. Schue said. "This is completely unacceptable."

Quinn ran out of the room, and Rachel ran after her. Finn couldn't believe what Coach Sylvester had done. She was even worse than Finn thought.

x

"You really didn't tell her?" Quinn asked Rachel.

"Of course I didn't tell her," Rachel said. "I don't like Coach Sylvester..."

"Who does she think she is to do that?" Quinn asked. "Now my parents are probably going to find out..."

"They don't know?" Rachel asked.

"I didn't want them to know," Quinn rambled. "I didn't want ANYONE to know, Rachel. Maybe an abortion would have made things easier, but then when I was at the doctor, I saw the sonogram and the baby, and I knew I wanted to keep the baby... I don't even know what to do. My parents will kill me for having sex before marriage, especially with a guy who isn't even Christian..."

Rachel didn't know what to say. She felt so sorry for Quinn, but she didn't know what Quinn was going through. Before she could respond, Quinn ran out of the hall, and Finn came up to Rachel. "Is she okay?" Finn asked.

"I just hope she will be," Rachel admitted.

"Well, I don't think Coach Sylvester will still be kept around after doing that," Finn said.

"Good," Rachel said. "I'm sick of Coach Sylvester..."

"If she did that to Quinn, she could do something like that to any of us," Finn said. "I guess we can be glad she didn't tell Kurt about our kiss..."

"We should maybe get the whole glee club together to do something for Quinn, a number to show we support her," Rachel suggested.

"I like that idea," Finn said. "I think she could use it."

"How about you and I pick out a song?" Rachel asked. "Like you said, our voices do sound good together."

x

Finn and Rachel did pick out a song, and a few days later, they had a number put together for Quinn. Mr. Schuester had informed the group that he'd asked Principal Figgins to remove Coach Sylvester as the assistant with a precondition that the glee club members sign a contract to not take Vitamin D again. After Mr. Schue shared the news, Finn and Rachel suggested the group do the number that they'd put together. The group let Quinn get in the center of the formation as Finn and Rachel led the song.

 _Rachel: You're not alone_

 _Together we stand_

 _I'll be by your side_

 _You know, I'll take your hand_

 _Finn: And when it gets cold,_

 _And it feels like the end,_

 _There's no place to go_

 _You know, I won't give in_

 _Finn and Rachel: No, I won't give in_

 _New Directions: Keep holding on_

 _'Cause you know we'll make it through_

 _Just stay strong_

 _'Cause, you know, I'm here for you_

 _There's nothing you can say (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can say)_

 _Nothing you can do (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can do)_

 _There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

 _So, keep holding on_

 _'Cause, you know, we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

 _Finn: So far away_

 _I wish you were here_

 _Before it's too late_

 _This could all disappear_

 _Finn and Rachel: Before the doors close,_

 _And it comes to an end,_

 _With you by my side,_

 _I will fight and defend_

 _I'll fight and defend_

 _Yeah! Yeah!_

 _New Directions: Keep holding on_

 _'Cause, you know, we'll make it through_

 _Just stay strong_

 _'Cause, you know, I'm here for you,_

 _There's nothing you can say (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can say)_

 _Nothing you can do (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can do)_

 _There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

 _So, keep holding on_

 _'Cause, you know, we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

 _Finn and Rachel: Hear me when I say, when I say I believe_

 _Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny_

 _Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly_

 _New Directions: Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah_

 _La da da da_

 _La da da da_

 _La da da da da da da da da..._

 _Keep holding on_

 _'Cause, you know, we'll make it through_

 _Just stay strong_

 _'Cause, you know, I'm here for you,_

 _There's nothing you can say (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can say)_

 _Nothing you can do (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can do)_

 _There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

 _So, keep holding on_

 _'Cause, you know, we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

 _New Directions Girls (New Directions Boys): (Oooh-oh!) Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah_

 _Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (Oh-oh!)_

 _Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (Finn and Rachel: Keep holding on!)_

 _Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah_

 _(Oooh-oh!) Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah_

 _Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (Oh-oh!)_

 _Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (Finn and Rachel: Keep holding on!)_

 _Ah, ah, ah-ah-ah_

 _New Directions: There's nothing you can say (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can say)_

 _Nothing you can do (Finn and Rachel: Nothing you can do)_

 _There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

 _So, keep holding on_

 _Keep holding on_

 _'Cause, you know, we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

At the end of the number, Quinn turned to Rachel and Finn. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Rachel said. She knew that even though this was going to be tough for Quinn, she wasn't going to let this girl - her friend, against all odds - go through it alone. And she knew the rest of the glee club wouldn't, either.


	8. Chapter 8: Mashup

_Hey guys. Thank you all so much for all your reviews on the last chapter. I appreciate them. This was another tough one since I had to make lots of changes to the episode, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy the chapter and let me know what you liked if I should keep going!_

Mashup

"And effective next week, we will have an additional mandatory practice on Fridays right after school," Coach Sylvester told the Cheerios. "If you don't come to this practice, you're off the cheerios."

Rachel knew what happened on Fridays right after school. There was a glee club practice then. "But what if we have other commitments?" Rachel asked.

"You heard me!" Coach Sylvester repeated. "If you don't come to that practice, you're off the cheerios! You guys can go home now."

"What are you going to do?" Mercedes asked Rachel as the two of them left practice with Lauren and Tina.

Rachel didn't know what to do. "Well, I love glee club and I want to stick with it..."

"Coach Sylvester only had us join so she could have spies from the inside," Lauren said. "If we leave, they'll only have ten members. They won't have enough to go to Sectionals."

"Yeah, but I like glee club," Rachel protested. If she stuck around, there'd be eleven members of the glee club, still not enough. She really hoped her friends wouldn't leave. Mercedes and Tina both had great voices, and even though Lauren wasn't much of a singer, she had a lot of stage presence.

As the four girls left practice, Rachel felt a slushie hit her in the face. She looked around and saw that Mercedes, Tina and Lauren had been attacked by slushies as well.

"See that?" Dave Karofsky asked. "That's what you get, glee losers."

"I can't believe we used to do this to people," Tina said. "This is so gross."

"Now we'll need to pay for dry cleaning for our uniforms," Lauren complained. "And Coach Sylvester hates that."

"Do you guys need help?" a voice asked. Rachel turned and saw Santana and Brittany.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Rachel said.

"I'm sorry we did this to you guys," Mercedes said.

"Well, now you know that karma always comes back," Brittany said as she and Santana led the four cheerleaders into the bathroom. Rachel had never slushied anyone, and now she could see firsthand why she didn't. This felt horrible. Like Lauren had said, she was sure her uniform would be stained, and she was glad that she wasn't wearing clothes she cared about. When she got home, she'd need to wash the slush out of her hair. Her eyes stung.

After Santana and Brittany left the bathroom, the four cheerleaders were left by themselves. "We need to tell the other cheerios not to do this to people," Rachel said. "This isn't okay."

The other girls didn't listen to what Rachel said. "If we quit cheerios for glee club, we're going to be slushie targets," Tina said. "This might happen every day."

"We should go to the administration and see about getting rid of the slushie machine," Rachel said.

"People will just go to the 7/11 down the street," Mercedes said. "I am sorry I did this to people, though."

"Yeah, I didn't know how much gross it would be," Tina added. "This is awful, and so embarrassing."

At least they seemed to be coming around. "See?" Rachel asked. "Why should we want to be a part of something like this?"

"Well, I might not do it anymore, but who says other people won't?" Mercedes asked.

"And who says they won't do it to us if we quit cheerios?" Tina asked.

"We'll need to stay on cheerios instead of glee if we don't want this to happen again," Lauren concluded.

Rachel watched as her friends walked away. She didn't want to quit glee club. It was the best part of her day. But what if her friends were right? What if she did get picked on?

x

Mr. Schue's assignment this week was to find a song to mash up with Bust A Move. Finn had no idea what song to use. Rachel would know what to use. And he and Rachel had sounded great last week on No Air...

Then Quinn came up to him. "Hey Finn."

"Hi Quinn," Finn said.

"I was wondering if you'd like to work on some mashup ideas with me," Quinn said. "Want to come to my house after school?"

Finn had never worked with Quinn before. He had to admit, she was pretty. Her voice wasn't bad either. And Rachel was probably working with Kurt or the other cheerios. "Sure."

"Great," Quinn said. She handed Finn a post-it. "Here's my address."

Rachel came over to Finn. "Hey. Want to work on mashup ideas together?"

Of course Finn wanted to work with Rachel. But he'd just said yes to Quinn. "I'm sorry, I told Quinn I'd work with her."

Rachel looked disappointed. "Oh. That's too bad. Our voices do sound good together."

"I know they do," Finn said. He had to admit, he liked that Rachel was jealous. It was always him as the jealous one.

"Coach Sylvester said if we don't come to cheerios practice Friday after school, we get kicked off the team," Rachel sighed.

Finn didn't like the sound of this. "What? The Friday glee practice is the only mandatory one..."

Rachel looked down. "I know... I think Coach Sylvester did that because of this..."

"What are you going to do?" Finn asked, not sure if he wanted to know.

"I want to quit cheerios but..." Rachel began.

"But what?" Finn asked.

"You know what happens to people at this school," Rachel said. "You've stopped getting slushied since you joined the football team, but I got slushied this morning and it was horrible."

"You think people don't still make fun of me?" Finn asked. "It's not like the guys on the team talk to me..."

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I don't want to leave glee."

"Then don't," Finn said. "I look forward to hearing what you come up with." He walked away, hoping to give Rachel some time to think.

x

Finn knocked on the door of Quinn's house. It was unbelievable - he hadn't even stepped inside yet, but he was pretty sure his whole house could fit into a corner of the downstairs area.

A blond woman who looked like she'd had lots of plastic surgery opened the door. "Hi, you must be Finn," she said in a voice that sounded overly sweet. "I'm Judy, Quinn's mom."

"Nice to meet you," Finn said. He stepped inside, and inside, the house was even bigger and more impressive than outside. The railing looked like it was made of marble, there was a fountain in the entrance hall...

"Oh, take off your shoes, honey," Judy said. "We don't want to get mud on our carpet."

Finn took off his shoes as Quinn came in with her father. "Hi Finn!"

"So, this is your boyfriend?" Quinn's dad asked.

Boyfriend? Finn didn't remember saying anything about that to Quinn...

"Yeah, this is him," Quinn said, walking over to Finn and putting her arm around him. "Finn's number one in our class, and he led the football team to a victory a few weeks ago."

"Very impressive," Quinn's dad said. "You know, I was quarterback of the football team in high school, and I was Prom King and number one in my class. So, Finn, if you're number one in your class, what college are you going to?"

This was already making Finn uneasy. "I'm just a sophomore."

"Never too early," Quinn's dad said. "You know, I graduated with honors from Harvard."

"That's where Russell and I met," Judy said.

"Our older daughter was head cheerleader and just graduated from Stanford, and now she's married to a great Christian man," Russell said. "Quinn was never into cheerleading, but with her beauty and her brains, I'm sure she'll go far."

Finn definitely didn't like Quinn's parents, especially not her dad. "I'm actually here to work an a glee club assignment with Quinn, can we go upstairs?"

"Of course you can," Judy said.

"Sorry," Quinn said to Finn as they headed upstairs. "My dad can be a bit intense."

"It's fine," Finn said as they walked into Quinn's bedroom. Finn was sure that Quinn's bedroom was bigger than his living room. "Quinn, why did you tell your parents we're dating? I thought you were with Puck..."

"But he's Jewish," Quinn said. "My parents are serious Christians, they aren't going to like me dating a Jewish guy."

"But I'm not Christian," Finn said. "I'm not anything."

"You could become Christian," Quinn said. "Come on, Finn. My parents keep asking me why I don't have a boyfriend..."

"I'm sorry..." Finn began.

"Finn, I'm hot, you're hot," Quinn said as she kissed Finn's neck.

"I thought we were working on an assignment for glee club," Quinn said.

"We will," Quinn said. "After we make out."

"I'm really uncomfortable right now," Finn admitted.

"Do it," Quinn said, kissing Finn.

Finn didn't understand Quinn's sudden interest in him, but at least someone was interested. And Rachel was with Kurt. She probably wouldn't break up with him any time soon.

"Okay," Finn said. He made out with Quinn for a little, but he couldn't help but picture Rachel and pulled away. "I can't do this."

"You can't what?" Quinn asked.

"I can't do this, Quinn," Finn said. Of course it was because of Rachel. But he couldn't say that. "I can't be with you if you only want to be with me to please your parents. I'm sorry." Had she only invited him over because he thought her parents would like him more than Puck? He saw the looks Quinn gave Puck. They were similar to the looks he gave Rachel.

x

Quinn watched as Finn left. She had to admit, what she'd done wasn't right. She'd been using Finn. She wanted to be with Puck, but with her parents being as religious as they were, there was no way they'd accept that a Jewish boy was dating their daughter, let alone had gotten her pregnant.

She wanted to be with Puck. She really did. But there had always been expectations in her household. Finn met her parents' mold more than Puck did. He'd just become an athlete and he was number one in their class. If they thought Finn was the one who'd done it, they might be more accepting when they inevitably found out she was pregnant...

"Where did Finn go?" Judy asked, coming into Finn's room.

"He had to go home, his mom had family over," Quinn said.

"Oh, I liked Finn, he seemed like a nice boy," Judy said.

"He is nice," Quinn said.

"Is he a Christian?" Judy asked.

"I don't know," Quinn said. Of course she knew, but she didn't want a lecture from her mom.

"What do his parents do?" Judy asked.

"His dad died and his mom works at a bank," Quinn said.

"How did his father die?" Judy asked.

The questions weren't ending. Quinn didn't even know the answer to that. And if her mom was asking her this much about a boy who came over once, she'd go over the top if she found out about the baby... making her think even more that her parents wouldn't be happy if they found out about Puck.

Quinn got out her phone and sent Finn a text. She did feel bad for doing this to him, but she felt like she needed to. At least her parents had seemed to like Finn. "I'm sorry about tonight. I really do like you. Can you at least consider giving this a try?"

x

Finn was willing to sit with Quinn in glee club practice the next day, but she noticed that he was still looking over at Rachel. She knew that Finn wanted to be with Rachel and she wanted to be with Puck. But she also knew that Rachel probably wouldn't be at the mandatory Friday glee practice this week since she'd heard about Coach Sylvester's new rule...

Then Puck into glee club. "Mr. Schue, I have a song for today's assignment."

"All right!" Mr. Schue said. "Let's hear it."

Puck began playing the guitar and looking at Quinn as he sang. Quinn didn't even know that he played the guitar.

 _Puck: Where it began, I can't begin to know when_

 _But then I know it's growing strong_

 _Was in the spring_

 _And spring became summer_

 _Who'd believe you'd come along_

 _Hands, touching hands, reaching out_

 _Touching me, touching you_

 _Oh, sweet Caroline_

 _Good times never seem so good_

 _I've been inclined to believe it never would_

 _Oh, sweet Caroline_

 _Good times never seem so good_

 _Oh, I've been inclined to believe it never would oh no no.._

Quinn knew that Puck was singing to her. The look on his face made her lovesick, but she was sort of with Finn now. Finn had said he'd give this a shot, but that didn't mean Quinn didn't want to be with Puck - and that she would be with him if it wasn't for her parents.

She'd come up with a song to - last night's incident with Finn had inspired her. She raised her hand. "Mr. Schue, can I go next?"

"Of course," Mr. Schue said.

Quinn took the center of the room. Maybe this song wasn't the best to mashup with Bust A Move, but it was a song she wished she could sing to her parents right now. Come to think of it, Puck's wasn't one to mash with Bust A Move either. But if there was one thing she'd learned in glee, it was that music could help you find the words when you couldn't find them for yourself.

 _Quinn: Papa, I know you're going to be upset_

 _Cause I was always your little girl_

 _But you should know by now_

 _I'm not a baby_

 _You always taught me_

 _Right from wrong_

 _I need your help_

 _Daddy, please be strong_

 _I may be young at heart_

 _But I know what I'm saying_

 _The one you_

 _Warned me all about_

 _The one you said_

 _I could do without_

 _We're in an awful mess_

 _And I don't mean maybe_

 _Please,_

 _Papa, don't preach._

 _I'm in trouble deep_

 _Papa, don't preach._

 _I've been losing sleep_

 _But I made up my mind._

 _I'm keeping my baby_

 _Ooh, I'm gonna keep my baby mmmm_

"That was good Quinn," Mr. Schue said. "You too Puck. But I'm not sure if those are the right songs for the mashup."

Puck was looking at Quinn, and Quinn could tell that he knew. At the end of glee practice, Puck came running up to Quinn. "You and Finn?"

"Well..." Quinn began.

"I thought you liked me!" Puck interrupted.

"I do," Quinn began. "But my parents..."

"Who cares what they think?" Puck asked. "My mom would be fine with me dating anyone!"

"That's because your mom isn't a freaking control freak who wants you to be perfect like my parents!" Quinn snapped.

"Finn gets slushied more than I do!" Puck snapped.

"He hasn't been slushied since he joined the football team!" Quinn said. "And he's got the best grades in our class..."

"Oh, please," Puck snapped.

"And my parents are very religious..." Quinn continued.

"Finn has 'don't have any' down as his religious views on Facebook!" Puck said.

"He could become Christian," Quinn said. "You're pretty set in your Jewish ways."

Puck looked hurt. "I thought you weren't like that, Quinn. I thought you and I could have something special." He walked away.

Quinn had thought they could have something special, too. But maybe she was wrong.

x

Rachel arrived at cheerios practice on Friday. The other day, Mercedes, Tina and Lauren had made it pretty clear to her that they felt like they needed to choose cheerios over glee club. She didn't want to do that, but these girls were her best friends, and she didn't want to lose them. She also didn't want to be slushied again.

This week, she'd noticed Finn spending more and more time with Quinn. She didn't know why Finn was spending so much time with Quinn when she was having Puck's baby. If Finn was with Quinn, then Rachel probably wouldn't get to be with him even if she were to break up with Kurt...

"Berry!" Coach Sylvester demanded. "Where are Weezy, Zizes and Asian?"

Rachel looked around. It occurred to her - Mercedes, Lauren and Tina weren't here. "I don't know."

"I was sure you girls would pick cheerios over the loser club," Coach Sylvester said.

Holy crap. Rachel was sure her friends would choose cheerios... but had they chosen glee? She wanted to choose glee, but they'd made her think that they wouldn't. She knew they liked glee, but they'd said that they didn't want to be slushie targets. But here she was without them, feeling like such an idiot.

Cheerios practice went on. Mercedes, Tina and Lauren never showed up.

x

Mercedes, Tina and Lauren had arrived at glee practice out of their cheerios uniforms, saying that if Coach Sylvester was going to make them choose between glee and cheerios, then she'd have to lose them. Finn was glad that they were here... but where was Rachel?

Rachel seemed to love glee the most out of anyone except maybe Finn. Finn knew that the cheerios was something she was doing more because she was afraid of Coach Sylvester than that she actually enjoyed it.

"Maybe she's not coming," Quinn said to Finn.

"She has to be coming," Finn said.

"Well, she's the head cheerleader," Quinn said. "We were kidding ourselves if we thought she would stick around."

Finn knew Quinn was kidding herself by being with him. He was only doing this in hopes that Rachel would notice and break up with Kurt. "I don't get this."

"You should," Quinn said.

"Guys, we can't wait any longer," Mr. Schue said. "Let's get started."

Glee practice continued, and Rachel didn't show up.

x

Before the football game that night, Finn left where the team was and went up to where Rachel was with the other cheerios. "Hey."

"Hi," Rachel said, smiling at Finn.

"Why did you do it?" Finn asked. "Why did you leave glee?"

"You don't know the pressure I'm under," Rachel sighed.

"We're all under pressure," Finn told Rachel. "High school's like that. We're constantly surrounded with messages to be the best. The best student, the best athlete, the best looking, whatever. But we can't make everyone happy. We can make ourselves happy though. Isn't that what matters? We miss you, Rachel. I miss you. We're your friends."

Rachel looked touched. "I miss you, too."

Finn smiled at Rachel. She was so beautiful... But then she said something else. "So you and Quinn..."

"Yeah," Finn said.

"Why?" Rachel asked. "She's having a baby with Puck."

"She seems to like me," Finn said.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "Before I left glee, I saw the looks that she was giving Puck when they were singing their songs..."

"I don't even know..." Finn admitted. "I'm not even sure if I want to be with her." He didn't want to be with her. He wanted to be with Rachel. But she was with Kurt.

"Then why are you with her?" Rachel asked.

"Because I was so glad someone finally showed interest in me and wasn't just using me to cover up that she was a lesbian," Finn groaned.

"That's not a very good reason to date someone," Rachel pointed out.

"Well, what do you expect?" Finn asked.

"You should date someone because you like them," Rachel said. "It's better to be alone than to be with someone just because you don't want to be alone. I know being single can be lonely at times, but I'm sure that won't be the case forever." She gave Finn one of those smiles she seemed to reserve for him, making him think there might be hope.

Then Finn heard a call for the team to circle up and left, thinking about what Rachel had said to him and hoping she'd thought about what he said.

x

"Hey," Finn said as he went up to Quinn in the hall.

"Hey," Quinn said.

Finn decided to go out and say it. "Quinn, it was nice of you to show interest in me... but this isn't going to work. I have stronger feelings for someone else, and I know you do, too."

"I told you, my parents won't want me to date Puck!" Quinn snapped. "If you made quarterback, I'm sure they'd love you..."

Finn didn't feel like this. He instead thought back to his talk with Rachel. "We shouldn't just be trying to please other people all the time. We should just try to please ourselves."

"Easy for you to say," Quinn snapped.

"Quinn, I'm sorry," Finn said. "But I know that you really like Puck, and I know that he really likes you. You shouldn't let your parents get in the way. Our relationship was doomed from the start because both our hearts weren't in it."

"I guess you're right," Quinn admitted as she walked away.

As Finn watched Quinn leave, Rachel came up to him. Finn turned to Rachel. "It's over. You were right."

Rachel looked relieved, and Finn had to smile to himself. Then Rachel spoke. "You were right too."

"What?" Finn asked.

"I"m coming back to glee," Rachel said. "I don't want to just try to be the popular girl. I want to be happy, and glee makes me happy. Maybe we could find a song together for the mashup assignment?"

"Oh, Mr. Schue already determined some things can't be mashed together," Finn said. "None of us could find a mashup song."

"Well, some things can," Rachel said. "You and I can find a song for another assignment."

"Sounds great," Finn said. "Want to walk to class together?"

"I'd love to," Rachel said.


	9. Chapter 9: Wheels

_Hey everyone. Thanks for all the support on the last chapter. I appreciate it. Just a warning - there isn't very much Finchel in this chapter. I know this is mostly a Finchel fic, but I also want it to focus on New Directions as a whole and not go too far from canon. Since this episode was mostly about Kurt and Artie in canon, I wanted to give them focus in this version. There is Finchel though. Hope you enjoy and review if I should keep going._

Wheels

Sectionals were less than a month away now, and the glee club was still trying to find the perfect setlist. Doing two separate numbers didn't work and their mashoffs had disqualified each time. As Mr. Schue passed out a setlist, Rachel looked at one of the numbers she saw. Defying Gravity.

"Defying Gravity?" Kurt blurted out. "Wicked is the best musical ever. I saw it with Rachel when it came to Columbus last summer. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth are goddesses..."

Mr. Schue interrupted Kurt's ramble. "Want to do it, Rachel?"

"I'd love to," Rachel declared. "Like Kurt said, we saw Wicked over the summer..."

"What if I want to do it?" Kurt asked.

"The quarterback of the football team singing a Broadway song?" Puck asked.

"Kurt, you know this song is sung by a female..." Rachel began.

"I can sing it just as good as you," Kurt declared.

"Oh, really?" Rachel asked.

"We don't have time for this!" Mr. Schue interrupted. "Rachel's singing Defying Gravity. Anyway, there's something else I have to say. The school's not letting us take a handicap accessible bus to Sectionals."

"Why can't we use the one for football games?" Artie asked.

"Coach Tanaka won't let me," Mr. Schue said. "So, we'll need to raise money to rent one and have a bake sale."

Rachel froze. The glee club having a fundraiser? No one liked the glee club. Now that she was off the cheerios, she was getting a feeling of what it was like to be an outcast. People wouldn't buy from them. She felt bad for Artie, but wasn't there a way to pay for the bus that wouldn't involve the rest of the school?

"I don't think we have time for this," Santana said.

"We're all really busy," Finn added. "We've got homework and football and that stuff..."

"Artie's parents could probably take him and he could meet us there," Mercedes suggested.

"When I was in glee club, the best part of competitions was the bus ride there and back," Mr. Schue scolded. "You aren't being team players now."

Rachel didn't want to say that no one would buy from the glee club.

"It's fine," Artie said. "We should focus on rehearsing."

x

Soon, it would reach the point in Artie's life where he'd been in the wheelchair longer than he'd walked.

Artie could still remember that car accident clearly. The doctors had told him that it was a miracle that he and his mom had both survived. She had broken bones, and his spine was damaged, leaving him in a wheelchair.

He couldn't feel or move his legs. He'd gotten used to it to an extent, but there were always hassles. He'd always wanted to play sports, but he'd always thought he couldn't. It was a miracle that his parents had gotten the school board's approval for him to join the football team, as long as someone pushed his wheelchair.

It didn't stop there though. At every football game, the officials had to pre approve that an extra person could be on the field to push Artie around. Artie was just glad the school had approved of this though. If he wasn't an athlete, he was sure that he'd be an outcast because of his wheelchair.

He'd thought glee club would be easier since he didn't have to walk around, but now this was another obstacle. He wanted to take the bus with the rest of the team. He knew why they didn't want to have the bake sale - because the glee club was seen as losers. He partially had himself to blame for this - he was sure he'd run over most of their feet before he got to know them. It still hurt though.

The team still needed more numbers for Sectionals. Artie raised his hand. "Mr. Schue, I think I have an idea for a number for Sectionals."

"Okay, Artie," Mr. Schue said.

Ever since Artie had joined glee, he had enjoyed putting together small numbers in his wheelchair, some with wheelchair dance routines. Maybe showing them one of the routines would make them rethink things. He took a guitar and began playing.

 _Artie: On the floor of Tokyo, oh_

 _Or down in London town to go, go_

 _With the record selection_

 _With the mirror reflection_

 _I'm dancing with myself_

 _When there's no one else in sight_

 _In the crowded lonely night_

 _Well I wait too long_

 _For my love vibration_

 _And I'm dancing with myself_

 _I'm dancing with myself_

 _I'm dancing with myself_

 _Well there's nothing to lose_

 _And there's nothing to prove_

 _And I'll be dancing with myself_

 _If I looked all over the world_

 _And there's every type of girl_

 _But your empty eyes_

 _Seem to pass me by_

 _And leave me dancing with myself_

 _So let's sink another drink_

 _'Cause it'll give me time to think_

 _If I had the chance_

 _I'd ask the world to dance_

 _And I'll be dancing with myself_

 _Oh dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Oh dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Oh there's nothing to lose (A din-don-da)_

 _And there's nothing to prove (A din-don-da)_

 _I'll be dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Oh dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Oh dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Oh there's nothing to lose (A din-don-da)_

 _And there's nothing to prove (A din-don-da)_

 _And I'll be dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Oh dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Well there's nothing to lose (A din-don-da)_

 _And there's nothing to prove (A din-don-da)_

 _I'll be dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

 _Well there's nothing to lose (A din-don-da)_

 _And there's nothing to prove (A din-don-da)_

 _And I'm dancing with myself (A din-don-da)_

The glee club seemed to enjoy the number, and at the end, Mr. Schue looked at Artie. "I think you gave me an idea for Sectionals."

"What?" Artie asked.

"You'll see tomorrow," Mr. Schue said.

x

Kurt wanted to sing Defying Gravity.

He thought that glee club wasn't as narrow minded as the rest of the school. Maybe if he could sing Defying Gravity at Sectionals, it could be seen as okay. Maybe that would help him come out.

"I think you'd be really good at that song," Blaine said, interrupting Kurt's thoughts. "I sometimes imagine you and me singing As Long As You're Mine from Wicked..."

"We can't do that at Sectionals, Blaine," Kurt interrupted. He wanted to sing that song with Blaine too...

"You've really been confusing me lately, Kurt," Blaine said.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"Do you want to be with me, or not?" Blaine asked.

"Of course I want to be with you," Kurt said. "But..."

"Then why haven't you broken up with Rachel?" Blaine asked.

Kurt was surprised Blaine was so open to the possibility of coming out. "So you're fine with people gossiping about us?"

"Do you really think people will?" Blaine asked.

How could Blaine be so naive? "Yes, Blaine! This isn't New York or Chicago or something like that..."

Burt came into Kurt's room. "What's going on in here?"

"Nothing," Blaine said. "I was just about to go."

After Blaine left, Burt turned to Kurt. "That wasn't all that was going on."

"Dad, this is my life," Kurt said.

"You just went to homecoming with Rachel last week, didn't you?" Burt asked.

"I'm not ready to come out yet," Kurt said. "So can you and Blaine please stop pressuring me?"

Burt sighed. "Okay. So, how was school?"

"There's a really great song Mr. Schue wants to use on the Sectionals setlist," Kurt said. "But I want to sing it, and he won't let me because it's usually sung by a girl."

"What?" Burt asked. "He can't do that."

"That's what I said," Kurt said.

"Well, you are always saying that you're afraid to come out," Burt pointed out. "Aren't you afraid that people will suspect something?"

Burt had a point. "Well... maybe this could be the first step toward getting comfortable with coming out."

"I'll talk to your teacher and see if he'll let you sing it," Burt said.

x

The next day in glee club, Rachel was ready to show everyone what she'd come up with for her version of Defying Gravity. But her thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Schue pulled her aside. "Rachel, I know I gave you the solo, but Kurt expressed interest in it and wants to challenge you for it."

"What?" Rachel asked. Her boyfriend wanted to sing her song for Sectionals? Wasn't he supposed to support her? The truth was - she'd heard Kurt sing Wicked songs - and he was almost as good as her.

"You and Kurt will sing it as a duet, and then we'll vote for who sings it better," Mr. Schuester said.

"Okay," Rachel said. She wasn't sure if she was okay with this. She went over to Kurt. "You're challenging me for the Wicked solo?"

"Got a problem with that?" Blaine asked.

"Well... I wanted to sing it," Rachel said.

"I did too," Kurt said.

Rachel didn't feel like arguing. She looked over at Finn, who gave her a sympathetic look.

"And I have some more things to say," Mr. Schue said. "I was very disappointed in how unsympathetic you guys were to Artie yesterday, suggesting he drive to Sectionals with his parents instead of riding the bus with the rest of us."

"We didn't think you'd take it personally," Finn said.

"Well, you can't dance, but don't take that personally," Artie said. "I had to fight to get on the football team. You guys don't know how hard it is for me to just keep up."

"Exactly," Mr. Schuester said. "I got some friends at a local nursing home to loan me some wheelchairs, and each of you will spend three hours a day for the next week in a wheelchair. We'll also do a number in the wheelchairs for Sectionals."

x

Spending time in the wheelchair had definitely made Finn have sympathy for Artie. True, Artie used to run over his feet a lot, but now that he was getting to know Artie better, he was learning that Artie was a great guy. Finn was constantly bumping into things in the hall and had to reach up to get to his locker. He saw Rachel and wheeled down to her. "Hey."

"Hey," Rachel said. "Has this been as awkward for you as it has for me?"

"Meaning VERY awkward?" Rachel asked. "Yes. I don't know how Artie does this every day."

"Me either," Finn said. "So, your boyfriend wants your song for Sectionals, huh?"

"Isn't he supposed to be supportive of me?" Rachel asked. "At homecoming last week, he spent more time with Blaine than with me."

That wasn't okay. And Finn knew he would be supportive of Rachel. "Yeah, that's not cool."

"Do you think I'll get the solo?" Rachel asked.

"Totally," Finn said. "You're a really good singer."

"I was hoping you and I could do a duet for Sectionals," Rachel said.

Finn loved that idea. "That would have been great."

"Any ideas for songs for Sectionals?" Rachel asked.

"I'm still trying to figure it out," Finn said. "At least our bake sale seems to be going well..."

"I didn't think anyone would buy from us," Rachel said.

"Well, it's probably because Puck found that good recipe," Finn said. "You saw how slow sales were until he brought that recipe in."

"True," Rachel said.  
"Well, I'm rooting for you in the sing off," Finn told Rachel.

Rachel gave Finn one of those beautiful smiles. "Thanks."

x

Today was the day of the singoff for the Wicked solo. Kurt was sure he wanted the solo, but as he sang with Rachel, he thought about his talk with his dad. What if Burt was right? What if people figured out Kurt was gay because he was singing a song meant for a female?

Rachel was good at this. If she sang it, they could still win...

 _Kurt: Something has changed within me_

 _Something is not the same_

 _I'm through with playing by the rules_

 _Of someone else's game_

 _Too late for second guessing_

 _Too late to go back to sleep_

 _It's time to trust my instincts_

 _Close my eyes and leap!_

 _Rachel: It's time to try defying gravity_

 _I think I'll try defying gravity_

 _Kurt: Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity_

 _And you won't bring me down!_

 _I'm through accepting limits_

 _'cause someone says they're so_

 _Rachel: Some things I cannot change_

 _But till I try, I'll never know!_

 _Kurt: Too long I've been afraid of_

 _Losing love I guess I've lost_

 _Rachel: Well, if that's love_

 _It comes at much too high a cost... (Kurt: Cost)_

 _Kurt: I'd sooner buy defying gravity_

 _Rachel: Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity_

 _Kurt: I think I'll try defying gravity_

 _And you won't bring me down!_

 _I'd sooner buy defying gravity_

 _Rachel: Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity_

 _Kurt: I think I'll try defying gravity_

 _And you won't bring me down!_

 _Rachel: Bring me down!_

 _Ohhhhh, ohhhhh! (Kurt Ohhhhh!)_

Kurt blew the last note at the end of the song. Burt was right. People would think that he was gay if he sang this song.

Later, the votes were tallied, and Mr. Schue announced that Rachel would be singing the song at Sectionals. He sent a text to Blaine and his dad: "I blew the song on purpose. It's too risky. I can't let people know yet."

x

The glee club had raised enough money to rent the bus for Sectionals and Artie was happy about that. Members of the glee club had also told him that being in the wheelchairs had helped them understand what it was like. They'd asked him to help choreograph the wheelchair number, and the club would practice it for the first time after school today.

The best part was - Mercedes had asked him if he wanted to hang out after school before glee practice and do some wheelchair racing. Artie wasn't sure if this was a date, but this was the first time that a girl had wanted to do something one on one with him. Even though he was on the football team, he was always sure that people had seen him as someone different because of his wheelchair. He'd gone to homecoming in a group with some other football players and cheerios, but still, it was nice for a girl to express interest in him.

"You're so much faster than I am!" Mercedes said as she and Artie raced down the hall.

"Hey, I've had eight years of practice!" Artie said.

"I don't know how you do it," Mercedes said.

"Wheelchair racing is one of the few advantages I have," Artie told her.

"Well, I think you're going to beat me in every race we have," Mercedes said. "Are you excited to be the leads in the wheelchair number?"

"Of course!" Artie said. He hadn't spent much time with Mercedes other than at football and cheerios events, but he'd never realized how pretty she was, especially now that she wasn't in her cheerios uniform all the time.

"I'm just going to get out of the chair for a little," Mercedes said. "When I'm in the chair, this would be hard to do." She got out of the chair and walked over to Artie, kissing him.

Artie smiled as he kissed her back. This was the first time he'd ever kissed a girl. This wheelchair assignment and number was perhaps one of Mr. Schue's best ideas.

Artie and Mercedes looked at each other before Mercedes spoke. "We've got to get to glee practice."

"Yeah," Artie said. His mind stayed on the kiss as he got to glee practice and led the glee club in the wheelchair number.

 _New Directions: Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river_

 _Finn: This one's for you Artie!_

 _Mercedes: Left a good job_

 _In the city,_

 _Workin' for The Man every night and day_

 _And I never lost one minute of sleepin'_

 _I was worryin' 'bout the way things might have been_

 _Big wheel keep on turnin'_

 _Mercedes (with New Directions Girls):_

 _Oooh the (Proud Mary keep on burnin)_

 _Mercedes (Artie with New Directions Boys): And we're rollin' (Rollin')_

 _Rolling yeah (Rollin')_

 _Rolling on the river (Rollin')_

 _(with New Directions Girls: on the river)_

 _Said we're rolling (Rollin')_

 _Rolling (Rollin')_

 _Rolling on the river (Rollin')_

 _(with New Directions Girls: on the river)_

 _Artie: So I left a good job in the city_

 _Workin' for The Man every night and day_

 _Mercedes: And I never lost one minute of sleepin'_

 _Worryin' 'bout the way things might have been_

 _Tina: Big wheel keep on turnin' (New Directions: Turnin'!)_

 _Proud Mary keep on burnin'(New Directions: Burnin'!)_

 _Artie and Tina with New Directions: Rolling (Mercedes: Rolling)_

 _Rollin' (Mercedes: Yeeah)_

 _New Directions: Rollin' on the river (Artie: Rollin' on the river)_

 _Mercedes: Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis y'all (New Directions: Memphis y'all)_

 _Pumped a lot of 'tane down in New Orleans (New Directions: New Orleans)_

 _Artie: But I never saw the good side of the city_

 _'Til I hitched a ride on a river boat queen_

 _Tina: Big wheel keep on turnin! (New Directions: Turnin')_

 _Mercedes: Proud Mary keep on burnin! (New Directions: Burnin')_

 _New Directions: Rolling (Artie and Mercedes: Rolling)_

 _Rollin' (Mercedes: Rolling!)_

 _Rollin' on the river (Artie: Rollin' on the river)_

 _Rollin' (Mercedes: Rolling!)_

 _Rollin' on the river (Mercedes: Rollin' on the river!)_

 _Da do do do, da do do do, da do do do,_

 _Ba da da (yeaah!)_

 _Ba ba ba (yeaah!)_

 _Pa pa pa pa pa pa ra pa yeah!_

The glee club had sounded good and the wheelchairs were definitely a unique touch. They'd struggled with this number at first, but Artie had given them pointers. And Rachel had sounded great on Defying Gravity. Whatever their third number was - Sectionals was looking pretty good for them.


	10. Chapter 10: Ballad

_Hey guys. Thanks so much for the support on the last chapter. I really appreciate it. This is one of my favorite S1 episodes, but it was tough to write since it would be so different in my universe! I missed writing Finn and Kurt's bonding, but don't worry, bonding for them is coming up - they'll always be my BroTP. Hope you enjoy and review if I should keep going :) And have a great Halloween!_

Ballad

"What are these?"

Puck stopped in his tracks as he walked into the kitchen. His mom was holding up ultrasound photos.

Oh no. How had she found those? "You never clean your room," Mrs. Puckerman continued. "These were under your bed..."

"Mom..." Puck began. He couldn't hide this.

Mrs. Puckerman looked horrified. "So you got some girl pregnant?"

"I can explain..." Puck began.

"Who is she?" Mrs. Puckerman asked.

"Her name is Quinn Fabray, she's in my grade at school," Puck admitted. "I know I shouldn't have had sex with her..."

"You're right, you shouldn't," Mrs. Puckerman scolded. "Do you have any idea how serious this is? If you keep this baby, your lives are never going to be the same. You'll need to put him or her ahead of the two of you all the time. Your life and your feelings will come second. You might need to skip school a lot..."

"We don't know if we're keeping the baby," Puck interrupted.

"What do you want to do?" Mrs. Puckerman asked.

"I don't know," Puck admitted.

"Well, if Quinn decides to keep the baby, don't do what your father did to me and you and Sarah," Mrs. Puckerman said.

Puck thought about what his mother was saying. "I wouldn't. I'm really, really sorry Mom... I wasn't trying..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Mrs. Puckerman asked.

"I thought that you'd be mad," Puck said.

"Of course I'm upset, but it's not like I would neglect you," Mrs. Puckerman said. "Do Quinn's parents know?"

"No," Puck admitted. "She and I aren't really together..."

"Well, even if you're not together, you're going to have a responsibility for the rest of your life as that child's father if she keeps it," Mrs. Puckerman said.

"I know," Puck said. At least his mom wasn't throwing him out or anything. And he had to admit, he felt a little better now that she knew. It was like a weight had been lifted.

x

Rachel arrived in glee practice to see "Ballad" written on the board. "Ballad," Mr. Schue said. "From Middle English, balade. Ballads are stories set to music, which is why they're the perfect storm of self-expression. Stories and music are the way we express feelings that we can't get out any other way. Okay, now, sectionals are in a few weeks and there's a new rule this year: we have to perform... a ballad."

A ballad? Rachel loved ballads. Maybe she and Finn could sing one together... well, her and Kurt. But she wanted to sing with Finn. "I have your names in this hat, and one by one, you'll come up, pick a name... and that's who you're going to sing with."

Rachel crossed her fingers, hoping she'd choose Finn's name. Blaine went up first and drew Kurt's name, then Artie went and drew Quinn's, then Puck drew Mercedes's, Tina drew Mike's, Sam drew Brittany's, and Santana drew Lauren's.

There were two names left: Finn and Rachel. Rachel couldn't believe her luck. She'd be singing with Finn. "So I guess that leaves Finn and Rachel," Mr. Schue said.

Rachel had to stop herself from smiling wide. "Sounds good."

"I'm not sure if I'm okay with this," Kurt said.

"It's just an assignment, Kurt," Mr. Schue said.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I'm sure you and Blaine will come up with good things."

Kurt glared at Finn. "You'd better not use this as an opportunity to hit on her."

"Kurt, stop it," Mr. Schue said.

"Want to come over and find a song?" Rachel whispered to Finn.

"Yeah, I'd love to," Finn said.

x

Quinn sat in her living room, waiting for Artie to arrive to work on the ballads. Anyway, it would be nice to have a little distraction. Earlier today, she'd tried on the dress her mom had bought her for the chastity ball. It had been tight. Her mom had reprimanded her for gaining weight when they'd had the dress custom made and for the fact that they'd need to have it redone...

The doorbell rang, and Quinn walked to the door. To her surprise, Artie wasn't there. Puck was. "Hi," Quinn said.

"Hi," Puck said.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked.

"Artie asked if we could trade," Puck said. "Now that he's dating Mercedes, he wanted to sing with her, so I told him it was fine."

Quinn was fine with that... but what would Mr. Schue think? "You're not with Finn anymore, right?" Puck asked.

"He's too into Rachel," Quinn groaned.

"Well, his loss," Puck said. "Any songs you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm sure we can find something," Quinn said.

"Quinn..." Puck began. "My mom knows."

"What?" Quinn asked.

"She found ultrasound photos in my room," Puck said. "I'm so sorry..."

Quinn felt herself beginning to panic. "Oh my gosh! What if she tells my mom?"

"I don't think she's ever even met your mom," Puck said.

"Puck, I think my mom might even suspect something," Quinn said. "My dress for the chastity ball didn't fit..."

"Maybe you should tell her," Puck said. "I feel better now that my mom knows, and she told me that she'll support me... and you..."

Quinn didn't know much about Puck's mom, but she was probably more open minded than her own parents. Then again, that didn't take much. "My parents aren't like that, Puck. They have very high expectations, they stress perfection... they think sex before marriage is the ultimate sin. Before my sister got married, they constantly made sure she wasn't having sex."

"Really?" Puck asked.

"Yeah, really," Quinn said. "My dad especially."

"You don't know," Puck said.

"I do know," Quinn said. "Look Puck... I really appreciate your concern, but we can't talk about this."

"You may be able to hide it now, but you can't hide it forever," Puck said. "In a few months, it's going to be obvious and you can't just say you've been eating a lot or not exercising enough or something like that."

Quinn knew Puck was right. Before she could say anything, he looked at her. "I have something to say to you. I know we've got to do our ballad together, but this is a song I have for you." He turned on his iPod and began to sing the song the music went with.

 _Puck: You're havin' my baby  
What a lovely way of sayin'  
How much you love me  
You're havin' my baby  
What a lovely way of sayin'  
What you're thinkin' of me  
I can see it, your face is glowing  
I can see it in your eyes  
I'm happy you know it  
That you're havin' my baby  
You're the woman I love  
And I love what it's doin' to ya  
You're havin' my baby  
You're a woman in love  
And I love what's goin' through ya  
The need inside you  
I see it showin'  
Whoa, the seed inside you_

The music stopped and Quinn turned. Her parents were here. What were they doing here? She thought they were at that fundraiser for John Kasich...

"What's going on here?" Quinn's dad demanded.

Quinn didn't know what to say. Instead, Puck started talking. "In glee club, we have this assignment where we have to sing a ballad for..."

"Who are you?" Quinn's dad asked. "I've never even seen you before and you're singing a song like that to my daughter?"

"My name is Noah Puckerman, Quinn and I go to school together..." Puck began.

"Are you two dating?" Quinn's mom asked.

"Yes," Quinn lied. That would make things easier.

"What happened to that Finn boy?" Mrs. Fabray asked. "Didn't you say you say that he was doing well with the football team?"

"It didn't work out," Quinn said.

"And why were you singing that song?" Mr. Fabray asked.

Both Quinn and Puck fell silent. Mr. Fabray glared at both of them. It was the angriest Quinn had ever seen her father look.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Puck began.

Mr. Fabray glared at Quinn. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry," Quinn said. She didn't know what to say. "I shouldn't have had sex... I just got caught up in the moment..." She didn't want to mention that she and Puck had both been drunk. That would make her parents even angrier.

"We raised you right," Mrs. Fabray said, sounding close to tears.

"Of course you did," Quinn said. "I told you, I wasn't trying to get pregnant. Can we at least talk about this?"

"What is there to talk about?" Mr. Fabray snapped. "You sinned... you know sex shouldn't happen before marriage."

"I don't even know if I'm keeping the baby..." Quinn began.

"If she does, I'm going to be there for both of them, every step of the way," Puck said.

Mr. Fabray turned to Puck. "You need to leave."

Quinn didn't want to continue this discussion without Puck. She at least knew that Puck was on her side. Her mom was always afraid of her dad, always gave into him.

"Puck's a good guy," Quinn said. This was exactly why she'd been afraid to tell her parents. She knew they wouldn't have a good reaction. She was lucky they hadn't noticed any of the signs... but now that she thought about it, her mom had been eyeing her stomach when she tried on the dress for the chastity ball... had she figured it out then?

"You too," Mr. Fabray said to Quinn. "Get out of my house."

Was he kicking her out? "What?" Puck jumped to Quinn's defense. "You can't do that! She's your daughter!"

"Not anymore she's not!" Mr. Fabray shouted. "She went against everything I raised her to be."

This was really happening. "Why are you doing this?" Quinn asked.

Puck turned to Quinn's mom. "Why aren't you defending her?"

"If she really cared, she would have said something when she found out I was pregnant," Quinn said. Her mind once again flashed back to when they were trying on the dress. Her mom had even been feeling her stomach.

Mr. Fabray turned to his wife. "You knew?"

"You didn't tell me," Mrs. Fabray said to Quinn.

"But you knew, I knew you did," Quinn said. "I needed you... but you thought by ignoring it that it would go away, just like you and Dad do with every bad feeling."

"Don't turn this on us!" Mr. Fabray snapped. "This is your fault! Go get your things. You have half an hour to get out."

A half hour? Quinn didn't know what to say. Luckily, Puck spoke. "You two shouldn't be allowed to be parents. I'm sure Quinn and I will be better parents to our kid than you are to her."

x

Finn sat in Rachel's bedroom, waiting for her to get back from picking up the music she had in mind for their ballad. Finn eyed Rachel's queen sized bed. It looked so comfortable... perfect for sex. His thoughts were interrupted when Rachel came over with her laptop. "Okay, let's find some ideas. You have any songs in mind?"

"Not sure, you?" Finn asked.

"I'm sure we can find some," Rachel said. "Come on, it'll be us singing together, of course it'll be good."

"Yeah," Finn said. "How's it feel to not be on the cheerios anymore?"

"It's surprisingly better than I expected," Rachel said. "It's just nice to have more free time."

"I bet," Finn said. The only disadvantage to Rachel not being on the cheerios was that most of her clothes didn't expose her legs as much and he didn't get to see her doing the cheerleading routines at football games. The plus side was that lots of her clothes made her look really pretty... especially her sequined leg warmers, and she had lots of cute sweaters with animals on them...

"Do you think we'll win Sectionals?" Rachel asked.

"I hope so," Finn said. "I can see you singing really good ballads."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, you're a really good singer," Finn said. "I'm glad we got paired up. I've missed hanging out with you..."

"Kurt's been getting really upset whenever I hang out with other guys lately," Rachel admitted.

Of course this had to do with Kurt. "Rachel, why do you let him do that?"

"The bad thing about not being on the cheerios anymore is that I don't have the social status I used to," Rachel admitted. "At least with Kurt, I get to be dating the quarterback."

"That's not a very good reason to date someone," Finn said.

Rachel looked like she thought Finn was right. "I think he likes me... well, when he's not critiquing my wardrobe..."

"I love your animal sweaters!" Finn laughed.

Rachel giggled. "Thanks, I like them too."

Finn looked at the list of songs when Rachel pointed to one. "I think that one would be good for both our voices."

Finn looked at the song. "I do too. Want to try it?"

 _Finn: My love,_

 _There's only you in my life_

 _The only thing that's right_

 _Rachel: My first love,_

 _You're every breath that I take_

 _You're every step I make_

 _Finn (and Rachel): And I (Rachel: I)_

 _I want to share_

 _(All my love with you)_

 _No one else will do_

 _Rachel: And your eyes (Finn: Your eyes, your eyes)_

 _Rachel and Finn: They tell me how much you care_

 _Oh yes_

 _You will always be_

 _My endless love_

 _Two hearts_

 _Two hearts that beat as one_

 _Our lives have just begun_

 _Rachel (and Finn): Forever (Finn: Oooh)_

 _(I'll hold you close in my arms)_

 _(I can't resist your charms)_

 _And I (Finn: Oh, love)_

 _(I'll be a fool for you)_

 _(I'm sure)_

 _You know I don't mind (Will: Oh, you know I don't mind)_

 _Rachel and Finn: 'Cause you_

 _You mean my world to me_

 _Oh I know_

 _I've found in you_

 _My endless love_

 _Bum Bum_

 _Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum_

 _Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum_

 _Oh and I (Finn: Oh Love)_

 _I'll be that fool for you_

 _I'm sure_

 _Rachel: You know I don't mind (Will: Oh, you know I don't mind!)_

 _You don't mind!_

 _Rachel and Finn: And yes!_

 _You'll be the only one_

 _'Cause no one can deny this love_

 _I have inside_

 _And I'll give it all to you_

 _Finn: My love (Rachel: My love, my Love)_

 _Rachel and Finn: My endless love_

At the end of the song, Finn and Rachel stared in each other's eyes. He felt the urge to kiss her, but then his phone went off. He looked at the phone and saw that it was Puck. "Oh gosh, Quinn's parents kicked her out."

"Oh no," Rachel said.

"I can't believe a parent would do that," Finn said.

"Yeah, me neither," Rachel said.

Finn and Rachel both sat in silence for a few moments. They were both lucky to have supportive parents, but clearly everyone else wasn't so lucky. "Maybe we could see if the whole glee club could sing a ballad to them, to show them we're there for them," Rachel suggested.

"I like that idea," Finn said. "Let's find a song and then call everyone."

x

It had been luck that Kurt and Blaine were paired together for the ballad assignment.

Kurt had so many ballads he wanted to sing with Blaine, but he couldn't. Not when everyone still thought he was straight. If they sang a ballad together for the assignment, they could just say they were doing it as two artists. That could work - right?

Kurt knocked on Blaine's door, where they'd planned to get together to work on a ballad. "Hey!" Blaine said. "I picked out a song."

"Great," Kurt said. "Do I know it?"

"Of course you do," Blaine said. He turned on his iPod as the music began.

Kurt knew this song. This was probably the song at the top of his wishlist for songs to sing with Blaine.

 _Blaine: Never knew I could feel like this_

 _Like I've never seen the sky before_

 _Want to vanish inside your kiss_

 _Seasons may change, winter to spring_

 _But I love you until the end of time_

 _Come what may_

 _Come what may_

 _I will love you until my dying day_

 _Blaine and Kurt: Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place_

 _Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace_

 _Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste_

 _It all revolves around you_

 _And there's no mountain too high_

 _No river too wide_

 _Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side_

 _Storm clouds may gather_

 _And stars may collide_

 _Kurt: But I love you (Blaine: I love you)_

 _Until the end of time (Blaine: Until the end of time)_

 _Blaine and Kurt: Come what may_

 _Come what may_

 _I will love you, I will love you_

At the end of the song, Kurt leaned in and kissed Blaine. The song had sounded better than Kurt had imagined it sounding in the fantasies he had about singing this song with Blaine.

"Wow," Blaine whispered. "That was good."

"Yeah," Kurt said.

"I can't wait for the glee club to hear it," Blaine said.

"Me either," Kurt said. "But remember, we're doing it as two artists..."

Blaine looked annoyed. "How long are we going to keep pretending this doesn't mean anything, Kurt?"

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, knowing very well what.

"We both know that we're gay and in love with each other, not the girls we're pretending to date," Blaine said. "We can't keep pretending."

"Blaine, I'm not ready to come out," Kurt said.

"Well, I am," Blaine said. "And I'm not going to keep pretending to be straight and living a lie."

"That's your choice," Kurt said. "You'll probably be a slushie target."

"Fine, then I'll be a slushie target," Blaine said. "But I'm so tired of pretending to be something that I'm not."

"You think we would have gotten the top positions on the football team if people knew we were gay?" Kurt asked. "I know Frankenteen's trying to take my position..."

"Enough is enough," Blaine interrupted. "Either we go public with this, or I'm done doing it in private."

"I should go now," Kurt said.

"Yeah, I think so," Blaine agreed.

Kurt left Blaine's house, thinking about what Blaine had said. He knew he loved Blaine and wanted to be with him. But was he ready for the school to know that?

x

Quinn was lucky that Puck's mom had let her move in with them, but she was still recovering from what her parents had done. She'd wondered for most of her life if they really loved her or just the idea of having a perfect daughter, and this just about confirmed that it was the latter. Puck, his mom and his sister were all supportive and nice to her, but at the same time, she often found herself longing for her parents.

She was barely able to focus on the ballads some of the glee clubbers were performing, but then she noticed everyone but her and Puck was at the front of the room. "Puck, Quinn, your fellow Glee Club members want to sing a song for you guys to let you know how they feel about you," Mr. Schue said.

Another song for them? Quinn listened and held Puck's hand as the music began.

 _New Directions: Hum_

 _hum-hum-hum-hum_

 _Hum-hum-hum-hum_

 _Hum-hum-hum-hum_

 _Artie: Hold on_

 _Sometimes in our lives_

 _We all have pain_

 _We all have sorrow_

 _But if we are wise_

 _We know that there's always tomorrow_

 _Artie and Mercedes: Lean on me_

 _When you're not strong_

 _And I'll be your friend_

 _I'll help you carry on_

 _For it won't be long_

 _Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on_

 _Just lean on me_

 _Call on your brother_

 _When you need a friend_

 _We all need somebody to lean on_

 _I just might have a problem_

 _That you'll understand_

 _We all need somebody to lean on_

 _Lean on me_

 _Artie: Oh, oh if there is a load_

 _New Directions: There's a load_

 _Artie: You have to face_

 _New Directions: You have to face_

 _Artie That you can't carry_

 _I am right up the road_

 _I'll share your load_

 _New Directions: If you just call me_

 _Call me_

 _I'm calling_

 _Artie: Call me_

 _Mercedes: When you need a friend_

 _Artie: Call me_

 _New Directions: Call me_

 _Call me_

 _Call me_

 _When you need a friend_

 _Call me_

 _Any time of day_

 _Call me_

 _Mercedes: Ooh, it won't be long_

 _Till I'm gonna need_

 _Somebody to lean on_

 _Lean on, lean on me_

 _Lean on, lean on_

 _Lean on me_

 _New Directions: Lean on me_

 _Lean on, lean on_

 _Hey, hey, hey_

 _Lean on me_

 _You can lean on me_

 _I'm gonna need somebody to lean on_

 _Gonna need somebody to lean on_

By the end of the song, Puck and Quinn joined the rest of the group in their dance, and Quinn had to admit, she felt better. At least she had a great group of friends who had her back in this.


	11. Chapter 11: Hairography

_Hey everyone. Thank you so much for all the support. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Like I said before, school and work have been using up most of my energy and I haven't had as much time to write, but I'm doing my best to update each story once a week. Hope you guys enjoy and review if I should keep going!_

Hairography

Kurt couldn't stop thinking about Blaine's ultimatum. Either go public or stop doing this in private. He wanted to be with Blaine so badly... but he knew this school. Some of the guys on the football team were much bigger than he was... and would Coach Tanaka even let him stay on the football team if he found out?

And then there was Rachel. He was sure she'd be mortified if she found out that he was cheating on her - with another guy, nonetheless. Then again, he was suspicious he wasn't the only guy Rachel had eyes for anymore.

His eyes fell on Finn. Finn was into Rachel and everyone knew it. As much as it hurt Kurt to admit it, he knew Rachel was into Finn too. Maybe if Finn wore clothes that didn't look like they were thrown together at the last minute, Rachel wouldn't feel bad if Kurt broke up with her.

x

"Hi Finn."

Finn looked at Kurt standing at his locker. "Hi." He didn't know what to say. Kurt definitely went between being nice to him and not being nice to him. He wasn't sure what today was going to be.

"So, I was thinking, with Sectionals coming up, we know you're going to be a lead, but we want you to look appealing," Kurt said.

This was making less and less sense. "Okay..."

"Yeah, exactly," Kurt added. "Okay. So, what do you say I come over and we'll find you something for Sectionals?"

"Won't we be wearing uniforms for Sectionals?" Finn asked.

"Finn, the judges could be coming from this school," Kurt said. "We don't know who they are. If they see that our lead is attractive... it could get us some brownie points. So, what do you say, can I come over tonight?"

Finn still wasn't sure if he liked this idea, but maybe it was worth a try. After all, it was his house. He could always ask Kurt to leave if he got uncomfortable. It was his house, after all. "Okay."

x

The doorbell rang, and Kurt was standing there. "Hi," Finn said.

"Hello Finn," Kurt said.

"So, what are we doing again?" Finn asked.

"We're going to find you some nice stuff to wear during the days leading up to Sectionals," Kurt said.

Finn still didn't like this idea. "Okay..."

"Are you home alone?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah," Finn said.

"Maybe your dad has some nice stuff when he goes out with your mom," Kurt said.

Finn wasn't sure if he should talk about his dad with Kurt. They had an off and on relationship, and Kurt might make fun of Finn's dad being dead. "Oh, my dad's... not here."

"I'm sorry," Kurt said, looking sympathetic. "Did he leave?"

"No," Finn said. He figured he'd just admit it. "He died."

"I'm sorry," Kurt said. "My mom died too. Do you miss him?"

"Well, I was a baby so..." Finn began.

"I'm sorry," Kurt repeated. "Maybe that's for the better that you didn't know him. I miss my mom."

"I'm sorry," Finn said. He did wish he had his dad at times. As much as he loved his mom, he couldn't talk to her about girls very much, and she didn't understand sports. "So, what did you think of the Jane Addams glee club that came to visit and show us their number today?"

"Oh, that was so lame," Kurt said. "The hairography."

"I know, right?" Finn asked.

"And Mr. Schue wanting us to do a hairography number?" Kurt asked. "We can do so much better."

"Yeah," Finn said. "I thought Defying Gravity would have been good, and why don't we just do Don't Stop Believing and Somebody to Love? Those were good numbers."

"Tell me Finn: who was better on Defying Gravity, me or Rachel?" Kurt asked.

"I thought you were both good," Finn said. "I thought it would have been good as a duet."

"Really?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. When he looked past the fact that Kurt was dating Rachel, Finn had to admit, they sounded good together. "Anyway... you said you wanted to find some stuff for me to wear in case the judges happen to be around McKinley?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "You were mentioning my dad... my mom actually still has his stuff..."

"Okay," Kurt said. "Let's go look through it."

"My mom never threw it out," Finn said.

"My dad's that way, too," Kurt said. "My mom died ten years ago, and he still keeps her toothbrush on the holder by their sink. The broken dresser in their room still smells like her perfume. I know it's stupid, but sometimes I'll sneak in there and open all the drawers and lie on the floor and close my eyes and just smell her."

"That's not stupid," Finn admitted. He led Kurt into the basement, where he pulled out the box of clothes that had been his dad's. "Let's see..."

Kurt began looking at the clothes. "Your dad had good taste."

Finn pulled on some of the clothes. "Wow, they fit..."

"See Finn, you can wear nice stuff," Kurt said. "Wear some of this to school tomorrow, and all the girls will turn when you walk down the hall."

Finn didn't want all the girls to walk down the hall. "There's only one girl I want to impress."

"And who is it?" Kurt asked.

Finn couldn't say. "I'd rather not say."

"Okay," Kurt said. "But still... the girls will be impressed."

x

Finn walked around the hall in the suit and tie Kurt had told him to wear. He felt a bit strange wearing this to school. His mom had asked him why he was wearing a suit and tie to school. He didn't know what Kurt was doing this for...

Then Rachel stopped. "Finn..."

"Hi," Finn said to Rachel. He noticed that she was looking at him. Did she think he looked good? "Did you have something to say?"

"Um... I did," Rachel said. "But I... forgot..."

Finn liked the way Rachel was looking at him. "Well, I was wondering, want to come over tomorrow and practice for Sectionals?"

"Sure," Rachel said. "I'll come tomorrow after your football practice."

Finn smiled. "That's great." Kurt had helped him - but Finn couldn't let Kurt know that it was Rachel he'd impressed. He found Kurt in the hall. "Hey, one of the girls wants me to come over and practice for Sectionals..."

"See, I told you," Kurt said. "Who was it?"

Finn paused. "I'd rather not say... just in case. But she's coming over..."

Kurt looked at Finn. "I'll come over before she comes to help you out."

x

Finn paced around. Kurt was coming over, but before he got here, Finn asked Rachel to come a little later so he could have time to prepare. He remembered the first song that he and Rachel sang together and thought it would be perfect for them to sing.

The doorbell rang, and Kurt came in. "Hello Finn."

"Hey Kurt," Finn said.

"So you won't tell me who this girl is?" Kurt asked.

"Sorry, like I said... in case it doesn't work out..." Finn began.

"Okay, so what song were you thinking of doing?" Kurt asked.

Finn and Rachel hadn't even talked about that. "I kind of wanted to do 'You're The One That I Want' from Grease." It was the first song he and Rachel had done together... and they hadn't even gotten to finish it.

"Then you should channel your inner Danny Zuko," Kurt said. "Let's find you some Danny type clothes."

"What?" Finn asked. "Wasn't this about looking..."

"Finn," Kurt interrupted. "Trust me."

"Okay," Finn said. After some time with Kurt, Finn hoped he and Rachel could have a good night together.

x

Rachel had gotten a text from Finn saying she could just come in. She looked around. "Finn?"

"I'll be right out," Finn called. "You can wait in the living room."

"Okay," Rachel said. "Any songs in mind?"

"I wanted to do the one from Grease, from our first Glee rehearsal..." Finn called.

"Okay," Rachel said.

Finn came into the living room and Rachel felt shocked. Finn was wearing jeans, a white shirt and a black leather jacket, and his hair was sticking up, like Danny Zuko's style in Grease, not like his usual style. He turned on the radio and began the song.

 _Finn: I got chills, they're multiplyin'_

 _And I'm losing control_

 _'Cause the power you're supplyin'_

 _It's electrifyin'!_

 _Rachel: You better shape up_

 _'Cause I need a man_

 _But my heart is set on you_

Rachel turned off the radio. This wasn't going well. "Wait... stop."

"What's wrong?" Finn asked.

Rachel knew what was going on right now. Finn was trying to seduce her. If it wasn't for Kurt, she'd be with him. But she was with Kurt, and she'd already cheated once. "I'm going to be honest, I'm feeling really uncomfortable now..."

"What's wrong?" Finn asked.

"Between the suit you wore to school yesterday, and this tonight... you're not being yourself," Rachel said. "Something feels off."

Finn looked down. "Rachel... I thought you liked this."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I like you when you're being yourself. This isn't you."

Finn looked even more upset. "I'm so stupid."

"I've got to go," Rachel admitted. "I like you a lot, Finn... a lot... but this isn't right."

Rachel felt horrible for hurting Finn as she left. But she couldn't keep doing this. Either she needed to break up with Kurt or stop doing things with Finn behind Kurt's back.

x

Finn had spent all night sulking in his room after what happened with Rachel. He was sure he shouldn't have accepted Kurt's help. Kurt probably knew that Finn was into Rachel. When they talked about their families, Finn thought that they were friends... but Kurt was just a fake. He was probably trying to sabotage things.

Finn went up to Kurt at his locker. "You made me make a fool out of myself."

"What?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, like you don't know," Finn said. "You had me dress up like a politician going to a rally and then like Danny Zuko to make me look bad..."

"You thought I didn't know that you were trying to steal my girl?" Kurt asked.

"Well, your girl is into me too, and there's nothing you can do about it," Finn snapped.

"That's what you think," Kurt said. "Well, why would she choose you over me?"

Finn groaned. "You think that you're so above me..."

"Let me tell you something, Finnegan, I was helping you," Kurt said. "You can sing with Rachel, you can dance with her, but you will never have her."

"We'll see about that," Finn said. "I'm not going down without a fight."

"You're already down," Kurt said. "You don't even need to fight."

"We'll see about that," Finn said.

x

When Finn went to glee club that day, he didn't even make eye contact with Rachel. The Haverbrook deaf choir was visiting today, and the New Directions performed their hairography number. Finn was sure it was the worst number they'd ever done, and he was humiliated. Even though these kids that could hear didn't have good hearing, he could tell they weren't impressed.

After the hairography number, Finn sat down with the other New Directions members, listening as the Haverbrook choir began performing... with the New Directions eventually joining in, singing as they followed the Haverbrook choir's signing of the words.

 _Haverbrook choir: Imagine there's no heaven_

 _It easy if you try_

 _No hell below us_

 _Above us, only sky_

 _Imagine all the people_

 _Living life for today_

 _Mercedes: Imagine there's no countries_

 _It's not hard to do_

 _Nothing to kill or die for_

 _And no religion, too_

 _Imagine all the people_

 _Living life in peace. Yoo-hoo-ooh-ooh_

 _Artie: You may say I'm a dreamer_

 _But I'm not the only one_

 _I hope someday you will join us  
And the world will be as one_

 _Rachel: Imagine no possessions_

 _I wonder if you can_

 _Finn and Rachel: No need for greed or hunger_

 _A brotherhood of man_

 _New Directions: Imagine all the people_

 _Sharing all the world_

 _Mercedes: You may say I'm a dreamer_

 _New Directions: Ooh_

 _But I'm not the only one_

 _Finn and Rachel: I hope someday you will join us_

 _And the world will live as one._

They hadn't even planned it, but Finn and Rachel had ended up singing together. Their voices still sounded amazing together. But had he completely ruined his chances to be with Rachel by mouthing off to Kurt?

x

As Rachel and Kurt left glee club, Kurt turned to Rachel. "Can we be in love again?" he asked. Maybe if things got better with Rachel...

"Can I tell you something?" Rachel asked. "I can't keep lying."

"What?" Kurt asked. Had she cheated on him with Finn?

"Last night I went to Finn's," Rachel said. "We were home alone... and he came out dressed in this Grease type costume... I don't even know why I went, but something could have happened... but nothing happened... I left before anything could happen."

Kurt knew what the plan was. He'd been the mastermind behind that. "Nothing happened though?"

"No," Rachel said. "I only want to be with you."

Kurt wasn't even sure if he still wanted to be with her. But he could try. "I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too," Rachel said as she gave Kurt a hug. As Kurt and Rachel walked away, Kurt saw Blaine watching them with a sad look on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Finn doing the same thing.

x

"I have something to tell you guys," Mr. Schue told the glee club. "You were right. This isn't who we are. I want us to try something different. To sit on a stools and sing. Just sing."

The next day, the glee club sat in the auditorium, sitting on stools as Tina led them in the song. As they sang, Rachel couldn't help but keep looking over at Finn. She felt horrible for hurting him the other day, and despite her talk with Kurt, she wasn't even sure if she was in love with Kurt.

 _New Directions: Ah, ah, ah_

 _Tina: You with the sad eyes_

 _Don't be discouraged_

 _Oh, I realize it's hard to take courage_

 _In a world full of people_

 _You can lose sight of it all_

 _And darkness, still inside you_

 _Make you feel so small_

 _New Directions: But I see your true colors shining through_

 _I see your true colors_

 _And that's why I love you_

 _So don't be afraid to let them show_

 _Your true colors_

 _True colors are beautiful_

 _Like a rainbow_

 _Tina: Show me a smile, then_

 _Don't be unhappy_

 _Can't remember when_

 _I last saw you laughing_

 _If this world makes you crazy_

 _And you've taken all you can bear_

 _You call me up because you know I'll be there_

 _New Directions: And I see your true colors shining through_

 _Yeah_

 _I see your true colors and that's why I love you_

 _So don't be afraid_

 _Afraid to let them show_

 _Your true colors_

 _True colors_

 _Tina: True colors_

 _Are beautiful like a rainbow._

At the end of the practice, Rachel chased after Finn. "Finn..."

Finn turned. "Hey Rachel."

"I'm really sorry about the other night," Rachel said. "It wasn't right of me to run off like that."

Finn shrugged. "It's fine. You were right. You're with someone else. I shouldn't have been trying to force myself on you..."

What was Rachel supposed to say? She knew she wanted to be with Finn. But she also knew that she was with Kurt. And Kurt had just told her that he wanted to give things another try. "I'm just so confused..."

"Before I started hitting on you, you were happy with Kurt," Finn said.

Rachel did like Kurt. But in a friends way. Her romantic feelings were for Finn. "I'm just so confused..."

"Don't be," Finn said. He walked away, leaving Rachel there to think.


	12. Chapter 12: Mattress

_Happy late Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm so sorry it took so long. With the holiday this week, I didn't think anyone would have much time to read, so I figured I'd wait to post it until after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I hope everyone had a good one! I also have new chapters ready of both my other stories that should be up in the next few days :) Hope you enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!_

Mattress

Picture day was coming up, and Rachel was just starting to think about the fact that this year, she wouldn't be in the cheerios photo in the yearbook. With yearbook season coming up, she was getting nervous. The cheerios always defaced the photos of the clubs that were known for being joined by "losers" - would her picture be defaced with the glee club this year? Luckily, rumor had it that the glee club wasn't going to have a yearbook photo.

When Rachel arrived for glee club, she saw Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes, Tina and Lauren looking at old yearbooks. "It's a good thing that there isn't going to be a glee club photo in the yearbook," Artie said.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

Kurt pointed at a photo. "Peter Gellar. Glee club second tenor, 1998. He can be seen here with both a drawn on Hitler mustache and rice paddy hat. Shortly after the yearbook came out, Mr. Gellar had a nervous breakdown. He is now the homeless man who sleeps in front of the public library."

"Patches?" Rachel asked.

Kurt nodded. "Patches."

So people had always hated the glee club. Kurt opened another book. "Exhibit B. Tawny Peterson. Glee club class of 2000. Seen here in her photo with a cartoon knife stuck in her head, in a macabre tableau that, in four years, would prove eerily prescient."

"So you're saying that glee club members were so traumatized by the photo defacing that it basically destroyed their lives?" Santana asked as she and Brittany came in.

"Yeah," Blaine said.

"Then maybe not having a yearbook photo isn't a bad thing," Sam admitted.

"I agree," Mike said.

Mr. Schue came in. "Hey guys. Ready for yearbook photos?"

"Well, glee club doesn't have one..." Rachel began. And she was pretty sure that was a good thing now.

"I'm going to change that," Mr. Schue said. "The glee club will have a photo. I'll make sure of that."

Finn came in. "I'm sorry, what did I miss?"

"I'm going to get you guys a yearbook photo," Mr. Schue said.

Finn half smiled. "Awesome!"

Rachel didn't know what to think. She didn't want to see a picture of Finn defaced. She remembered how the cheerios defaced his regular yearbook photo last year...

x

At the next glee club meeting, Mr. Schue came in. "About the yearbook photo... unfortunately, we didn't have a page, so I'll need to have a quarter page photo in the back... and we'll pick two team captains to appear in the photo."

Only a quarter page? Finn had been hoping to be in the photo. He knew he was the one who cared the most about glee club. But at the same time, he wanted everyone to be in the photo. "Well... I'd kind of like to be in the photo," Finn admitted.

"We're voting, Finn," Mr. Schue said.

"I think Finn would be a good captain," Kurt said.

Finn didn't know whether to believe Kurt or if Kurt had an ulterior motive again."

"Yeah, me too," Blaine added.

"Why don't we just vote and see what people think?" Santana asked.

Mr. Schue passed around pieces of paper. Finn thought Rachel was a good choice... but he really wanted to be captain. If he wrote his own name, he wouldn't get caught, right?

Finn dropped the paper in the basket as Mr. Schue looked over the pieces of paper. "Okay, everyone voted for Finn... including Finn. But we need TWO captains."

This was the first time Finn had seen so much confidence expressed in him. A unanimous vote...

"I think Finn can handle this by himself," Tina said.

"Yeah, he can," Mercedes added. "And we're fine with him representing us in the Thunderclap in his own."

"Now let's get to rehearsing," Artie said.

At the end of rehearsal, Mr. Schue stopped Finn. "Finn, can we talk a minute?"

"Yeah, of course," Finn said.

"So, as the captain, I need you to recruit someone else to be the other captain," Mr. Schue said.

Finn felt slightly hurt. "You don't trust me to do it on my own?"

"It's not that," Mr. Schue said. "Figgins recommended to me that we have two captains. There were always two captains when I was in glee. A male lead and a female lead. I'm sure you have lots of great ideas... but maybe you could have some help in pushing them."

"Why didn't you ask?" Finn asked.

"I think part of the reason no one else stepped forward was because they're ashamed to be in glee club," Mr. Schue admitted. "Maybe if you talked to them instead of me, it would seem different..."

Finn thought for a minute. He had the perfect person in mind to ask. "I'll get another captain, Mr. Schue."

"Thanks, Finn," Mr. Schue said.

Finn went up to Rachel at her locker. "Hey."

"Hey, captain," Rachel said.

"So, I have a proposition," Finn said. "You be the other captain. I'm honored that you voted for me... but like Mr. Schue said, we need two captains."

"Why didn't you vote for me if you thought I'd be good?" Rachel teased.

"I didn't think anyone would vote for me," Finn admitted. "And I really wanted to be captain. But if I'd known... I would have voted for you."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, really," Finn said. "So what do you say? Will you be the other captain and take the photo with me?"

Rachel looked a little nervous. "You don't want to take the photo, do you?" Finn asked.

"Well... I love glee..." Rachel began.

"And it started working because you joined," Finn said. "We only have the required number of members because your friends and your boyfriend and his friends joined. They wouldn't have joined if you hadn't."

"I guess you're right," Rachel admitted.

"I am right," Finn said. "You always say I'm the most talented person in the club, but I think you are. You and I will be the leads at Sectionals and we both know it. So what do you say? Will you take the photo with me?"

Rachel smiled. "Yeah. I'll do it."

"Sounds great," Finn said. Some ideas came to his mind. "Come to the choir room with me."

"What?" Rachel asked.

Finn's plan was working. "When you're on the cheerios, you want to look cool. But glee club is about being positive and happy... so we're going to work on the right way to smile for the photo."  
"Really?" Rachel asked. "I'm intrigued."

"Let's find a song to practice with," Finn said as he looked through the files and handed one to Brad, then handed Rachel a copy of the sheet music.

 _Rachel: when you first left me, I was wanting more_

 _you were kissing that girl next door_

 _what'd you do that for?_

 _Finn: what'd you do that for?_

 _Rachel: when you first left me_

 _Finn and Rachel: I didn't know what to say_

 _Rachel: I never been on my own that way_

 _just sat by myself all day_

 _I was so lost back then_

 _but with a little help from my friends_

 _I found a light in the tunnel at the end_

 _and now you're calling me up on the phone_

 _so you can have a little whine and a moan_

 _and it's only because you're feeling alone_

 _Finn and Rachel: at first, when I see you cry..._

 _it makes me smile_

 _yeah, it makes me smile_

 _at worst I feel bad for a while_

 _but then I just smile_

 _I go ahead and smile_

 _la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la_

 _la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la_

 _la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la_

 _la-la-la_

 _Rachel: at first when I see you cry_

 _Finn: see you cry_

 _Rachel: it makes me smile_

 _Finn: makes me smile_

 _Rachel: yeah, it makes me smile_

 _Finn: yeah, it makes me smile_

 _Rachel: at worst I feel bad for a while_

 _Finn: feel bad for a while_

 _Rachel: but then I just smile_

 _Finn: smile_

 _Rachel: I go ahead and smile_

 _Finn: go ahead and smile._

Finn and Rachel were laughing by the end of the song. Finn knew that with the two of them as captains, they'd kick butt at Sectionals.

x

A few days later, Finn and Rachel were at the photo studio to have the photo taken for the yearbook. Finn had to admit - he was worried Rachel wouldn't show up. But she did, and looking at the photos, he thought there were some great ones to choose from.

"I've got to go now," the photographer said. "I got a casting session in half an hour."

"For what?" Rachel asked. "I had some more poses in mind..."

"My brother-in-law is shooting a commercial for his store," the photographer said. "I'm directing it. I just do these school photos for the money."

"Well, what is it?" Rachel asked. "Finn and I are very talented."

Was Rachel volunteering herself and Finn for the commercial? "Well... there's more than two parts," the photographer said.

Then an idea came to Finn's mind. The glee club needed something to make them look cool. Maybe a commercial would do the trick. "I have some other people in mind. We're in the glee club at our high school... and we could do a performance for the commercial."

"A performance?" the photographer asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "We could put together a song and a routine... The two of us are the leads of the club, but everyone else is really good, too..."

"Well, why don't you come by tomorrow and show us what you can do?" the photographer asked.

"Yeah, that sounds great," Rachel said.

x

A few days later, Finn and Rachel were hanging out at his house to prepare for Sectionals when suddenly, Finn heard his mom calling him. "Finn, Rachel, come downstairs."

Finn and Rachel went downstairs where they saw themselves on television with the glee club.

 _New Directions: ba, ba, ba, ba-ba, ba-da ba, ba-da-da, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba-da, ba, ba-da-da_

 _Finn: I get up_

 _and nothing gets me down  
you got it tough  
I've seen the toughest around_

 _New Directions: ba, ba, ba-da_

 _ba, ba, da-da_

 _Rachel: and I know  
baby, just how you feel_

 _New Directions: ba, ba da-da_

 _Finn and Rachel: you've got to roll with the punches_

 _to get to what's real_

 _New Directions: ba, ba, da-da_

 _Artie: oh, can't you see me standing here_

 _I got my back against the record machine_

 _I ain't the worst that you've seen_

 _Quinn, Tina & Mercedes: ain't the worst that you've seen_

 _Artie: oh, can't you see what I mean?_

 _Quinn, Tina & Mercedes: can't you see what I mean?_

 _New Directions: might as well jump, jump!_

 _ba, ba, ba_

 _might as well jump_

 _ba, ba, ba-da_

 _ba, ba-da-da_

 _New Directions: go ahead, jump, jump!_

 _ba, ba, ba_

 _go ahead and jump_

 _ba, ba-da-da_

 _Mercedes: jump..._

 _New Directions: ba, ba, ba, ba-ba, ba-da_

 _Mercedes: jump..._

 _New Directions: might as well jump_

 _might as well jump_

 _ba, ba, da-da_

 _go ahead and jump_

 _go ahead and jump_

 _ba, ba, da-da_

 _jump, jump, jump_

 _oh, oh, oh_

 _Mercedes: yeah..._

 _New Directions: ba-da, ba-ba-da-da_

 _jump!_

"Come on down to Mattress Land!" the owner called on screen.

"Come on down to Mattress Land!" the New Directions shouted on screen.

"Look at that," Carole said to Finn and Rachel. "You two put that together."

"Yeah," Finn said proudly. "It turned out pretty well, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, hugging Finn. "We did well."

"We did," Finn said.

"So, are you two getting excited for Sectionals?" Carole asked.

"Yeah, we really are," Rachel said. "You'll be there, right?"

"Of course I will," Carole said. "You two are singing, right?"

"Yeah, we're leading Don't Stop Believing," Rachel said. "The first song we ever sang together."

"Rachel's also doing Defying Gravity, and we both have lines in the wheelchair number," Finn added.

"Do you have costumes yet?" Carole asked.

"Yeah, the girls have black dresses with red sashes, and the guys have black suits with red ties," Finn added.

"I think we'll win," Rachel said with optimism."

x

The commercial success wasn't long lived though. It turned out that Mr. Schue had used one of the mattresses and he was being disqualified from Sectionals. The glee club would have to go without a leader, unless they found a replacement advisor. Now Rachel was feeling guilty. This was her fault. If she hadn't gotten them to do the commercial, Mr. Schue would be leading them to Sectionals.

Rachel couldn't help but think about how hypocritical this was. Coach Sylvester was always giving the cheerios things they didn't need - always using school money to get those things. And now because Mr. Schue had used a mattress from the commercial, the glee club wasn't allowed to go to Sectionals?

Rachel went into Coach Sylvester's office. "Well, are you here to beg me to let you back on the cheerios?" Coach Sylvester asked. "You're the one who quit to join the loser club."

Rachel was reminded of how glad she was to be off the cheerios. "Oh, loser, huh?"

"Yeah," Coach Sylvester said. "Or maybe I shouldn't say that because you got disqualified..."

"Maybe I should tell Figgins about all the stuff you always give the cheerios for free," Rachel said. "Even though you never let me wear anything but the cheerios uniform to school when I was on the cheerios, I never had to buy any of my own clothes because you bought them. I was always getting my hair done, getting facials and massages... all that tanning? Please, you're such a hypocrite."

"Are you saying you didn't enjoy all that stuff?" Sue asked.

At the time, Rachel had, but now she realized what a mistake it was. "My point is: I think Figgins would have you fired if I told him about all that stuff. Or the cheerios would get banned from competition."

"If this means you won't tell, I'll let you back on the cheerios, but you're going to have to do laundry all season and be in the background," Coach Sylvester offered.

This wasn't why Rachel was here. She was here to stand up for the glee club. "And if you REALLY don't want me to tell Figgins - give up one of the SIX pages the cheerios have in the yearbook, and give it to the glee club."

"Are you serious?" Coach Sylvester asked. "I'm the one with the power on the cheerios. Not you."

"It's your call," Rachel said. "There's a glee club meeting after school. If I don't hear that the glee club has a photo in the yearbook, I'm going to Figgins with records of all that stuff. Your call. Oh, and I don't want to be back on the cheerios. I hated every minute I spent on that team. You abused us emotionally, verbally and physically and I'm sure you'd be fired if the school board knew what you were doing. I hated the person you encouraged me to be and the person the cheerios was turning me into. My only friends on the cheerios were Mercedes, Tina and Lauren, and they left anyway. So, think about what I'm telling you. Your call." She left Coach Sylvester's office, hoping her former cheerleading coach had taken her seriously.

x

At glee club that afternoon, Mr. Schue had an announcement. "I have some good news and some bad news."

Rachel didn't know what this meant. Either way, she'd be bringing in all those records tomorrow if there was no glee club photo. "We'll start with the good news," Mr. Schue continued. "You're going to Sectionals. And you got a full page photo in the yearbook instead of the quarter page one with just Rachel and Finn."

The glee club cheered. They were going to Sectionals. Rachel noticed Finn smiling over at her. She smiled back.

"But the bad news," Mr. Schue continued. "I'm the one who slept on the mattress, not you, so I'm disqualified. I'll need to find you a new advisor..."

Rachel gasped. A new advisor. Would they still be able to do well? "What?"

"I promise I'll find someone," Mr. Schue said. "I know that you guys will do well, no matter who leads you at Sectionals. You'll be great. You put together the number for the commercial without me... we had our setlist planned already, and I'm sure the new advisor will help you find a great setlist for Regionals..."

Rachel gulped. She'd been the one who suggested the commercial. "I'm so sorry..."

"I know," Mr. Schue said. "But this isn't about me. This is about all of you."

x

"I feel so guilty," Finn sighed as he and Rachel left the photoshoot. It had been the two of them who found the commercial...

"Me too," Rachel said. "The worst part was, I was so happy earlier when he first told us we were getting a photo..."

"I thought you wouldn't want one," Finn said. "I mean, I had to talk you into being in the two-person photo with me."

"At first I thought I didn't want one," Rachel said. "But then I realized that I do. Glee club's been the best part of high school for me so far..."

"Me too," Finn said.

"And I went into Coach Sylvester's office and told her that if she didn't give glee club one of the cheerios' pages, I was going to tell Figgins about all the times she's broken school rules to get the cheerios stuff," Rachel said. "I mean, I could have bought my own clothes, and I don't even like spray tans..."

Finn felt so much respect for Rachel right now. "You must have really scared her."

"I can't stand her," Rachel said. "And I'm so glad I'm not on the cheerios anymore."

"Do you think we can do it at Sectionals?" Finn asked.

"We have you," Rachel said.

"You think I'm that good?" Finn asked.

"You're the best singer and drummer I've ever heard," Rachel said. "So yeah, I think we're fine."

"We have you too," Finn pointed out. "You and I have some pretty awesome musical chemistry." But what if the new advisor didn't know what he or she was doing?


	13. Chapter 13: Sectionals

Hi _guys! Thanks so much for all the support. It means a lot to me. Here it is - my version of my favorite episode of the first half of glee! I had trouble with this one since I love the real version so much, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy the chapter and review if I should keep going :)_

Sectionals

Blaine walked to the auditorium, wondering what Kurt had wanted. Ever since he issued the ultimatum, things had been strained between him and Kurt. Blaine missed Kurt, but he was tired of doing this in private. He was tired of being in the closet. He'd broken up with Tina, but hadn't said why yet. He had a speech drafted for coming out to his parents. And he did want to be with Kurt - but not in private.

When Blaine got to the auditorium, Kurt was waiting for him. "You came," Kurt said.

"I almost didn't," Blaine said. "I do miss you, Kurt, but I'm tired of living a lie."

"Me too," Kurt admitted.

Blaine felt a surge of relief coming over him. "Really?"

"Yeah," Kurt said. "So I've decided: after Sectionals, I'm going to tell Rachel the truth about my sexuality."

"After Sectionals?" Blaine asked.

"I really want to win Sectionals," Kurt said. "We aren't going to win if there's behind the scenes drama. Rachel's going to be upset if she finds out our whole relationship was a lie. Even if I don't like her like that, she is fun to be with. She's the only other person who realizes how awesome Broadway is. I do hope I can still be her friend."

"I don't think she'll be that upset," Blaine said. "You know that she and Finn are into each other."

"I just want to be safe," Kurt said. "I want to be with you, Blaine."

"I want to be with you, too," Blaine said as he leaned in and kissed Kurt. As Kurt deepened the kiss, Blaine and Kurt heard footsteps, and Kurt pulled away.

"I wonder who that was?" Kurt asked, sounding panicked. "Do you think they saw?"

"Well, you said you want to come out after Sectionals," Blaine said.

"Yeah, but I don't know what people will think if they find out I'm gay..." Kurt began. "I don't want to live a lie anymore though."

"You'll be fine," Blaine said.

"After Sectionals," Kurt said.

"After Sectionals," Blaine said as he kissed Kurt again.

x

Finn couldn't believe what he'd seen when he went into the auditorium to work on his practice for Sectionals. Kurt and Blaine had been kissing on the stage.

Finn wouldn't be lying if he said he'd been suspicious that Kurt might be gay. Sure, he was on the football team, but at the same time, he'd seen Kurt's bedroom. Not very many straight men would critique everyone's clothes all the time. Finn also didn't think very many straight men would be as into showtunes as Kurt was.

Finn couldn't stop thinking - what would Rachel think if she found out that Kurt was cheating on her? Not only was he cheating on her, he was cheating on her with a boy. He was using her as his beard. Rachel didn't deserve to be lied to like that.

Finn and Kurt had a few moments this semester, but at the same time, Finn wasn't sure who the real Kurt was. He didn't know if their friendship moments this semester had been genuine or if Kurt was manipulated them. He didn't want Kurt to get hurt either though... but still, he couldn't get what he'd seen out of his head.

Finn went into the choir room. Maybe that would be a better place to practice. And did anyone else know anything? To his surprise, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Artie, Puck, Mike and Sam were already in the choir room. "Hey, have you guys noticed how Kurt and Blaine used to be spending so much time together and now they don't spend so much?"

"Since when do you keep an eye on everyone, Frankenteen?" Santana asked.

"I just think it's weird," Finn said, hoping someone else would point out that there was a possibility that there was something going on between Kurt and Blaine.

"Friends fight all the time," Sam said. "Blaine just broke up with Tina, maybe he wants some time to himself."

Finn figured he'd give things another try. He'd seen Kurt and Blaine kissing, he was sure of it. "I just... I think there's something there."

"You can't start rumors about people, Finn," Artie said. "That's not cool."

"We've got to go," Puck said as he left the room.

x

When the glee clubbers were out of Finn's earshot, they picked up their phones for a group call. "He's on to it," Santana said.

"Wait, what?" Mercedes asked.

"Finn has the same suspicions we do about Kurt and Blaine," Quinn said.

"Tina was talking about how Blaine was skipping out on dates for a while before they broke up to hang out with Kurt," Lauren said.

"And their ballad for ballad week?" Puck asked. "That was a couple thing."

"The point is, Finn's going to tell Rachel," Sam said.

"I hope he doesn't," Quinn said. "We need her for Sectionals. Maybe we should lock him up..."

"We need him too," Artie said. "They're our stars."

"Damn their talent," Brittany grumbled.

"He can't find out," Puck said as Finn walked by. "Hold on.." When Finn was gone, he went back to the phone call. "He's gone."

"We'll figure something out," Mike said.

x

Finn noticed Kurt and Blaine looking nervous in glee practice. When Mr. Schue came in and announced Ms. Pillsbury as the substitute advisor, the club began working on their songs, and when Rachel and Finn left together, Finn figured he'd tell her what he'd seen. The other glee club members had seemed uncomfortable when he told them about his suspicions, and when he saw Puck walking by on the phone, looking at Finn and saying, "He can't find out," that had confirmed things even more.

As Finn and Rachel left practice together, Finn looked at Rachel. "So, you sounded great on the song for Sectionals."

"Thanks," Rachel said. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah, I really am," Finn said. "Are you?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I know I joined glee club by accident, but I'm so glad that I did. I might be getting picked on more now that I'm not on the cheerios, but I like the glee club so much better. I can't believe I used to allow people to pick on these people... I would have laughed if people said I'd be friends with them a year ago, but now we're all going to Sectionals together and we're going to win."

Rachel looked so happy. Finn felt even worse about telling her now, but she deserved to know. "Yeah, I'm really glad you're in the club, too."

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked.

Finn gulped. "Rachel... I don't know how to tell you this, but I really care about you, and when you care about someone as much as I care about you... you can't just sit back when they're getting hurt."

Rachel looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Kurt's cheating on you," Finn said.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I went into the auditorium and saw him and Blaine making out..."

Rachel looked shocked. "What?"

"I'm so sorry, Rachel," Finn continued. "I feel horrible... but you need to know."

"He's cheating on me with Blaine?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Rachel... you don't deserve this..."

x

It took a while for Finn's words to register with Rachel. Deep down, she'd suspected Kurt might be gay, but not all effeminate guys were gay. She knew Kurt spent a lot of time with Blaine, but she always told herself it was just because they were best friends...

But he was cheating on her? With Blaine? Rachel couldn't believe it. She thought Kurt was more than her boyfriend - she thought he was her friend, too.

"Thank you for telling me," Rachel managed to say to Finn. She'd noticed Kurt hadn't quite left the choir room when she and Finn were leaving, so she quickly stopped at the slushie machine, got two slushies and began heading back.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Finn asked.

"Nothing," Rachel snapped. "Who do Kurt and Blaine think they are?" She walked back to the choir room, Finn following behind her, and threw one of the slushies in Blaine's face.

"What the hell?" Artie demanded. "You did not just throw that slushie on my man!"

"Oh yeah?" Rachel asked.

"What was that for?" Kurt asked as Rachel threw the other slushie on Kurt's face.

"RACHEL!" Kurt snapped. "These are new clothes!"

"I don't care about your stupid clothes!" Rachel shouted. "I care that you've been cheating on me!"

"What?" Kurt asked. "Who told you that?"

"Hey!" a voice said. Rachel turned as Mr. Schue came in. "What is going on in here?"

"Rachel slushied me and Kurt!" Blaine demanded.

"Well, Kurt and Blaine have been having an affair behind my back!" Rachel said.

"Who told you that?" Kurt repeated.

"Let's not even pretend we don't know, it was Finn," Santana said.

"Yeah, it was Finn, but I want you both to admit it," Rachel snapped, leaning towards Blaine. She looked at Kurt. "Is it true?"

The room fell silent. That was the confirmation Rachel needed. "Yes," Kurt said. "I'm sorry..."

"What?" Rachel asked. "You were really cheating on me... with Blaine?" Their whole relationship had been a lie. Kurt had never really had feelings for her. He just wanted to be with her so people wouldn't know he was gay. And looking around the room, no one looked surprised. Had everyone known about this? "I'm out of here!" Rachel snapped. She couldn't stand to be around Kurt or Blaine or any of these people.

"Rachel..." Miss Pillsbury began.

"You still have the required amount of members," Rachel said as she left the room.

x

Glee practice dragged by without Rachel. Miss Pillsbury wanted to focus on Sectionals, but it was clear that everyone was upset about losing their female star. Kurt would be doing Defying Gravity and Rachel's Don't Stop Believing lines would be divided between the other girls.

Finn felt awful. He admitted his intentions weren't the best, but he didn't want to make things even worse.

As he left the choir room, he saw Kurt sitting down. "Hey," he said, going up to Kurt. "I'm really sorry. You can slushie me if you want..."

"I'm not mad at you," Kurt admitted. "You just did what I couldn't do: you told her the truth."

"Still, I'm really sorry," Finn said. "I told her because I was hoping she'd want to be with me..." He might as well admit it.

"I shouldn't have done that to her," Kurt admitted. "Blaine wanted us to go public, but I was afraid to come out..."

Finn realized that it was his fault that Kurt was out. "I didn't want to out you..."

"Everyone knew but you and Rachel," Kurt admitted. "Well, everyone in glee club... I have hurt so many people..."

Finn didn't know what to say. "What I did wasn't right. And I hope you know that I'm really sorry." He wanted to make things better, not worse. He wouldn't be surprised if Rachel wouldn't want to talk to him now.

x

After Finn left, Kurt stood at his locker, thinking. Seeing how hurt Rachel looked had really upset him. He knew the easy thing to do would be to be mad at Finn for telling the truth, but he was honestly more mad at himself than anyone.

Blaine came up to Kurt, looking upset as well. "Hey."

"Hey," Kurt said.

"Well... we're both single and we can be together," Blaine said. "It's what we wanted... so why don't I feel good?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Kurt said. "She looked so upset... we shouldn't have been doing that behind our fake girlfriends' backs. We should have just broken up with them..."

"Yeah," Blaine said. Neither of them knew what else to say. They stood there in silence, wishing things would get better.

x

The deaf choir had just finished performing Don't Stop Believing.

Finn had already been worried about Sectionals without Rachel, but now that one of their songs had been taken, he was even more worried. There was no way of knowing for sure how they'd gotten it. Don't Stop Believing was a popular song. But could they put together a new number?

Finn's phone vibrated. It was a text from Rachel. "How are things going?"

Finn wished that Rachel was here. "We miss you. The deaf choir just performed Don't Stop Believing."

"I'm sorry," Rachel texted back.

Finn didn't know what to say. He understood why Rachel wasn't here. She'd been hurt. Everyone had kept a secret from her. He had been looking forward to singing with her today though.

A little while later, the Jane Addams choir came on stage. Two girls performed Defying Gravity.

Two of their three songs had been taken. Now Finn was sure that somehow, the songs had gotten out. When the rest of the girls came on stage in wheelchairs and began singing Proud Mary, everyone exchanged shocked looks.

"Everyone, to our room in five minutes," Finn said. He was going to figure something out... but there was something he needed to do first.

x

Rachel sat in her bedroom, thinking about Sectionals. She wished so badly that she was there. For weeks, she'd been looking forward to this, but she couldn't face anyone. Why had Kurt lied to her for so long? Why was her first boyfriend just using her so people wouldn't think he was gay?

When Rachel texted Finn earlier to see how things were going, she felt even worse. She wished so much that she was there. Being there wouldn't make things better for the club necessarily, but she felt so bad for them. They'd worked so hard... and she was sure Sue had something to do with the setlist getting out. She knew that Sue had asked Mercedes, Tina and Lauren to spy.

Rachel's phone started ringing. She looked at it and saw that it was Finn. She picked it up. "How's it going?"

"It's bad," Finn said.

"What happened?" Rachel asked.

"It's bad," Finn repeated. "The other glee clubs got our setlist."

"Oh no," Rachel said.

"All our songs have been taken," Finn said. "Rachel... we need you back."

"Finn, I can't," Rachel said. "Seeing Kurt and Blaine just hurts me so much after what they did to me."

"I don't think what they did was right at all," Finn said. "But we can't do this without you."

Rachel sighed. "Why do I have to be the bigger person all the time, Finn?"

"Sometimes it sucks to be special," Finn said. "We need you, Rachel. We're on in an hour. Just think about it."

x

Finn didn't feel particularly confident after his talk with Rachel, but he didn't feel particularly discouraged either. When the glee club was rounded up in their room, Finn spoke up. "Who knows what's going on here?"

Sam eyed the cheerleaders. "You gave them the list didn't you? You are on her team..."

"I didn't give it to her!" Mercedes protested.

"I gave it to her, but I didn't think she'd leak it," Lauren said.

"Still, even if she asked us to spy at first, I actually started to really like glee club, and I didn't want it messed up," Mercedes said.

"Yeah, we want to be here and we want to win," Tina added.

"Okay," Finn said. "I believe you guys, but we can't argue right now. If we do want to win, we need to work together and get a set list. Kurt was going to do Defying Gravity." He turned to Kurt. "Any other songs you could do?"

"Nothing as good as anything you could do," Kurt admitted. "You're our best singer, Finn. You need to do the solo, the ballad, if we want to win."

"He's right," Blaine added. "You were really good with ballads week..."

Finn gulped. "Well, there was another song I had in mind that week that maybe I could do..."

"Great, we've got a ballad," Santana said. "We could do Somebody to Love as our closing number. That was one of our best."

"We still need another group number."

"I found something," Rachel said, coming in. "I thought in light of everything that's going on, this would be a good one for us to do... if you guys will take me back."

"Of course," Finn said, giving Rachel a half smile.

"I heard Finn's doing a ballad and we're closing with Somebody to Love. Let's figure out a routine for this song, and we'll go from there. We can do this. We've come so far since we began, put together some great numbers."

"I'm glad you're back," Finn said to Rachel.

Kurt came over to Rachel. "Rachel..."

Rachel stepped behind Finn. Finn looked at her. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," Rachel said.

Finn looked at the title of the song Rachel had picked out: You Can't Always Get What You Want.

How true that was. But today, would they get what they needed?

x

The glee club put together a number, and it was almost time to open with Finn's solo. He was happy with what they'd done, happy Rachel was back, but today had been a whirlwind. Was there hope for the glee club? Would they win?

The announcement for the New Directions came on stage, and Finn stepped on for his solo.

 _Finn: Oh, why you look so sad?_

 _Tears are in your eyes_

 _Come on and come to me now_

 _Don't be ashamed to cry_

 _Let me see you through_

 _'Cause I've seen the dark side too_

 _When the night falls on you_

 _You don't know what to do_

 _Nothing you confess_

 _Could make me love you less_

 _I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you_

 _Won't let nobody hurt you_

 _I'll stand by you_

 _So if you're mad, get mad_

 _Don't hold it all inside_

 _Come on and talk to me now_

 _Hey, what you got to hide?_

 _I get angry too_

 _Well I'm a lot like you_

 _When you're standing at the crossroads_

 _Don't know which path to choose_

 _Let me come along_

 _'Cause even if you're wrong_

 _I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you_

 _Won't let nobody hurt you_

 _I'll stand by you_

 _Take me in into your darkest hour_

 _And I'll never desert you_

 _I'll stand by you_

 _And when..._

 _When the night falls on you, baby_

 _You're feeling all alone_

 _You won't be on your own_

 _I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you_

 _Won't let nobody hurt you_

 _I'll stand by you_

 _Take me in, into your darkest hour_

 _And I'll never desert you_

 _I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you_

 _Won't let nobody hurt you_

 _I'll stand by you_

 _And I'll never desert you_

 _I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you_

 _Won't let nobody hurt you_

 _I'll stand by you_

The crowd was applauding as Finn ended his solo, and as he ended, the glee club came on stage. Finn eyed Rachel, letting her know that it was for her. When the rest of the group was on stage, they began the number they put together earlier today.

 _New Directions: You can't always get what you want_

 _you can't always get what you want_

 _but if you try sometimes_

 _you'll find you get what you need_

 _Finn: I saw her today at the reception_

 _a glass of wine in her hand  
I knew she was gonna meet her connection_

 _at her feet was her footloose man_

 _New Directions: no, you can't_

 _you can't always get what you want_

 _Finn: oh, no, no, you can't_

 _New Directions: you can't always get what you want_

 _Finn: what you want_

 _New Directions: you can't always get what you want_

 _Finn: you can't always get what you want_

 _New Directions: but if you try sometimes_

 _well, you just might find_

 _you get what you need_

 _Mercedes: hey, hey, yeah_

 _Rachel: and I went down to the demonstration_

 _To get my fair share of abuse_

 _Finn and Rachel: singin' we're_

 _gonna vent our frustration_

 _if we don't, we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse_

 _sing it to me now_

 _New Directions: you can't always get what you want_

 _you can't always get what you want_

 _you can't always get what you want  
but if you try sometimes_

 _well, you just might find_

 _you get what you need_

 _get what you need_

 _Rachel: you can't always get what you want_

 _New Directions: get what you need_

 _oh, yeah, what you need_

 _what you need, yeah_

 _yeah!_

 _what you need!_

If Finn hadn't known, he wouldn't have guessed that the glee club had just put the number together earlier. There was one number left - but could they pull this off?

 _Finn: Can_

 _New Directions: Anybody find me somebody to love?_

 _Rachel Berry: Oh-oh, oh... ho!_

 _Each morning I get up, I die a little_

 _Can barely stand on my feet_

 _Finn: Take a look in the mirror_

 _And cry, "Lord, what you doing to me?"_

 _Rachel: I spent all my years believing you_

 _But I just can't get no relief_

 _Lord_

 _Finn and Rachel: Somebody, oh, somebody_

 _Can anybody find me_

 _Rachel: Somebody to love?_

 _New Directions: Someone to love_

 _Finn: Got no feel, I got no rhythm_

 _I just keep losing my beat_

 _New Directions: You just keep losing_

 _Rachel: I'm okay, I'm all right_

 _New Directions: It's all right_

 _Rachel: I ain't gonna face no defeat_

 _Finn and Rachel: I just got to get out of this prison cell_

 _Someday I'm gonna be free_

 _Lord_

 _New Directions: Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Rachel: Me... oh, oh, oh_

 _New Directions: Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Finn: Oh_

 _New Directions: Find me somebody to love_

 _Rachel: Oh_

 _New Directions: Somebody, somebody_

 _Somebody, somebody_

 _Find me, find me_

 _Find me somebody to love_

 _Can anybody find me_

 _Mercedes: Somebody to love?_

 _Oh, oh..._

 _New Directions: Find me somebody to love_

 _Rachel: Somebody find me_

 _Finn: Find me_

 _New Directions: Somebody find me_

 _Somebody to love_

 _Somebody find me_

 _Somebody to love_

Rachel smiled at Finn at the end of the number, the first genuine smile he'd seen from her since the news had broke. He put his arms around her, not wanting to let her go. He couldn't keep people from hurting her, but he could stand by her.

x

"Thanks for coming back," Finn told Rachel as they waited backstage for the results.

"I didn't want you do do this without me," Rachel said.

"As much as I hated having you gone... I understood," Finn said. "They hurt you."

"I shouldn't have punished everyone because of what they did," Rachel said. "It really hurts, Finn."

"I'd say I know, but I have no idea how much it hurts," Finn said. "No one's ever done anything like that to me. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here."

"Thanks," Rachel said as Miss Pillsbury called them over to wait for the results. Finn couldn't believe it when they announced that the New Directions had won. Despite everything, they'd won.

x

On the day of the first glee club meeting after Sectionals, the glee club had asked both Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury to come so they could thank both of them. Finn had to admit, he did wish Mr. Schue had been there. Before the club performed, Mr. Schue had something to say. "I first wanted to congratulate you on Sectionals," Mr. Schue said. "And if you'll take me back... I've been reinstated as an advisor."

The glee club cheered. First Rachel was back, now Mr. Schue was back.

"We missed you," Finn said.

"I missed you guys too," Mr. Schue said. "I heard your performance on the phone, you were incredible.

"And we have a little something to thank both of you," Rachel said. "Take a seat." She handed the music to Brad as the glee club began performing their number.

 _Rachel: guess this means you're sorry, you're standing at my door_

 _guess this means you take back all you said before_

 _like how much you wanted anyone but me_

 _said you'd never come back, but here you are again_

 _New Directions: 'cause we belong together now, yeah_

 _forever united here somehow, yeah_

 _you got a piece of me_

 _and honestly_

 _my life would suck without you_

 _Finn and Rachel: you know that I've got issues_

 _but you're pretty messed up, too_

 _either way, I found out I'm nothing without you_

 _New Directions: 'cause we belong together now, yeah_

 _forever united here somehow, yeah_

 _you got a piece of me_

 _and honestly_

 _my life would suck without you_

 _'cause we belong together now  
forever united here somehow, yeah_

 _you got a piece of me_

 _and honestly_

 _my life would suck without you!_

Even if the glee club members wouldn't always get what they want, they'd gotten what they needed: a Sectionals victory. And Rachel knew that, in time, she'd be okay.


	14. Chapter 14: Hell-O

Hey _everyone! Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter. They meant a lot to me. I've realized that things get more complicated as I move from_ one half _of the show to another, but I did the best that I could. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!_

Hell-O

Winter break was about two weeks after Sectionals - and Rachel had no idea how much she needed it.

Finding out the truth about Kurt and Blaine had been upsetting. Even though Rachel didn't feel romantic feelings for Kurt anymore, she thought that he was her best friend. She'd hoped that even if they did break up, they could still be friends. She hoped that they could keep watching movies of Broadway shows and singing together. She had been able to talk to him about anything. And she had to admit, she could count on him to let her know if something looked bad on her.

But that wasn't the case anymore.

The day after the Sectionals victory, Kurt and Blaine had both posted notes on Facebook admitting that they were gay. They didn't mention that they were seeing each other, but Rachel knew it wasn't too hard to put together. The two of them were always together.

And Rachel had to admit, she did feel bad for Kurt and Blaine. After they came out, Coach Tanaka had demoted them from the starting lineup of the football team (football season was over, but he made notes for next year). Other students would sometimes make homophobic slurs at them. They'd been hit by a few slushies.

Rachel was keeping her distance from them most of the time. She felt bad that they were getting hurt, but at the same time, she didn't want to spend time with the boys who'd betrayed her and used her for so long.

The truth was, the only person Rachel was spending much time with at all lately was Finn. After all, he had been the one to tell her the truth. It wasn't only Kurt and Blaine who had hurt her. Her friends had kept something important from her. She thought Mercedes and Tina were her best friends other than Kurt, but they hadn't told her. She'd gotten Tina to admit that when she and Blaine broke up, Blaine told her that it was because he was gay and in love with Kurt, but to not tell Rachel because Kurt wasn't ready to come out yet.

Rachel's dads were gay. She knew what type of prejudice gay people faced. She didn't hold it against Kurt for not wanting to come out. But she would have preferred for him to have just broken up with her if he didn't want to be together anymore rather than leading her on. She was getting laughed at too, being told that no straight guy would ever date a girl like her.

After everything that had happened, Rachel wasn't sure if she wanted to be with anyone right now. She liked Finn a lot, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to enter another relationship.

It was nice to have time away from school during break. Rachel spent most of her break at home, but she also spent some time at Finn's house. Finn had joined the basketball team, so she went to one of his games. Her dads had made Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years as nice as they could be considering the circumstances, but knowing that a return to school was looming was like a cloud over Rachel's head.

x

Mr. Schuester had announced yesterday that the glee club assignment this week was "Hello." Rachel had a song in mind, but before she spoke, Kurt raised his hand. "Blaine and I have something to say."

"Okay," Mr. Schue said. "You two have the floor."

Kurt and Blaine walked to the front of the room. "First, I wanted to say thank you so much for the support of all of you," Kurt said. "Coming out hasn't been easy. I've gone from one of the most popular guys at school to someone who gets made fun of daily. But at least I have this place as my safe zone, a place where I know I have friends."

Rachel felt happy that Kurt felt safe here, but hearing about this still stung a little. "And we have something else to say," Blaine said. "After some careful consideration, we've decided to tell all of you that we are together."

Rachel knew that, but at the same time, it hurt a bit that they were doing this so soon. It was like rubbing it in that her boyfriend had been cheating on her with another guy.

"Well, we're happy for you two, and you have our support," Mr. Schue said.

Another song came to mind for the assignment - one that Rachel knew the words to and could work to an extent. "Mr. Schuester, I have a song for the assignment."

"Great Rachel, let's hear it," Mr. Schue said.

Rachel began her song, eyeing Kurt and Blaine. To her surprise, most of the glee club joined in the song.

 _Rachel: I wake up every evening_

 _With a big smile on my face_

 _And it never feels out of place_

 _And you're still probably working_

 _At a 9 to 5 pace_

 _I wonder how bad that tastes_

 _When you see my face_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _When you walk my way_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Now where's your picket fence, love?_

 _And where's that shiny car?_

 _Did it ever get you far?_

 _You never seem so tense, love_

 _I never seen you fall so hard_

 _Do you know where you are?_

 _And truth be told I miss you_

 _And truth be told I'm lying_

 _Rachel with New Directions: When you see my face_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _When you walk my way_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _If you find a man that's worth the damn and treats you well_

 _Then he's a fool you're just as well_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Rachel: Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself_

 _Yeah, where did it all go wrong?_

 _But the list goes on and on_

 _And truth be told I miss you_

 _And truth be told I'm lying_

 _Rachel with New Directions: When you see my face hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _When you walk my way hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well_

 _Then he's a fool you're just as well_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Rachel: Now you'll never see_

 _What you've done to me_

 _You can take back your memories_

 _They're no good to me_

 _And here's all your lies_

 _You can look me in the eyes_

 _With the sad, sad look_

 _That you wear so well_

 _New Directions: When you see my face_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _When you walk my way_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _If you find a man that's worth the damn and treats you well_

 _Then he's a fool you're just as well_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Rachel with New Directions: When you see my face_

 _Hope it gives you hell I hope it gives you hell_

 _When you walk my way_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _When you hear this song_

 _And you sing along well you'll never tell_

 _Then you're the fool I've just as well_

 _Hope it gives you hell_

 _When you hear this song_

 _I hope that it will give you hell_

 _You can sing along_

 _I hope that he will treat you well_

Kurt and Blaine sat to the side, looking uncomfortable as Rachel finished the song and she glared at them. "Guys, the assignment was hello," Mr. Schue said.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I was focusing on the FIRST syllable."

"We're up against Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals," Mr. Schuester continued. "They've won Nationals more times than any other glee club in history... this is the real thing. We don't just have time to play around."

"I have a song for the assignment, that uses hello," Finn said.

"Okay, let's hear it," Mr. Schue said as Finn took the center.

 _Finn: Hello, I love you_

 _Won't you tell me your name_

 _Hello, I love you_

 _Let me jump in your game_

 _Hello, I love you_

 _Won't you tell me your name_

 _Hello, I love you_

 _Let me jump in your game_

 _She's walkin' down the street_

 _Blind to every eye she meets_

 _Do you think you'll be the guy_

 _To make the queen of the angels sigh_

 _Hello, I love you_

 _Won't you tell me your name_

 _Hello, I love you_

 _Let me jump in your game_

 _Hello, I love you_

 _Won't you tell me your name_

 _Hello, I love you_

 _Let me jump in your game_

 _She holds her head so high_

 _Like a statue in the sky_

 _Her arms are wicked and her legs are long_

 _When she moves my brain screams out this song_

 _Sidewalk crouches at her feet_

 _Like a dog that begs for somethin' sweet_

 _Do you hope to make her see, you fool_

 _Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel_

 _Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!_

 _Hello! Hello! Hello!_

 _I want you_

 _I need my baby_

 _Hello! Hello!_

 _I need, yeah yeah_

 _Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!_

Finn had been eyeing Rachel during the song. She had to admit, she was turned on - but at the same time, she didn't feel completely better about what happened with Kurt - and she also had to admit, she wasn't ready to date again.

"Great job, Finn," Mr. Schue said, interrupting Rachel's thoughts.

x

Finn had to admit, even though he was glad Rachel was single, he felt sorry for her. As he came up to Rachel in the hall, he patted her shoulder. "I'm really sorry about Kurt and Blaine."

"Thanks," Rachel sighed. "I..."

Finn figured he'd cut to the chase. "I know that dating me would be different than dating Kurt. I'm about a foot taller than you. I'm not going to win prom king and I'm a nerd and get made fun of. But I can promise you that I'm never going to hurt you and that I'll always be honest with you. All I ask is that you're honest with me."

Rachel gulped. "Finn, I don't think I can be with anyone right now..."

Finn didn't see that coming. "What?"

"After everything that happened, I think I need some time to myself," Rachel said. "I need to figure out myself, figure out everything..."

Finn had always thought Rachel was different. She'd quit the cheerios and she was open minded. But maybe part of her was still popularity hungry. "Are you sure that's why you don't want to date me?"

"That's what you think?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, I do," Finn said. "You've been getting slushied ever since you quit the cheerios, and if you start dating the biggest loser in school, you'll get slushied even more. Look at your life now, Rachel. The school used to see you as head cheerleader and now they see you as the girl who was Kurt's beard. I'm the one who's always been here for you and understood you..." He realized now that he might have taken things too far as he walked away.

x

As Rachel headed to her car, a boy who looked slightly familiar stopped her. "Well, well, it's Rachel Berry..."

Rachel now remembered who it was. "You're Jesse St. James from Vocal Adrenaline... you won MVP at Nationals last year, didn't you?"

"And my sophomore year, and my freshman year," Jesse said. "I was the first ever freshman to win MVP at Nationals."

This didn't make sense. "Why are you at McKinley right now?"

"Oh, I'm here for the McKinley vs. Carmel swim meet," Jesse said.

The pool was on the other side of the school. Rachel had a feeling that this guy was here to cause trouble. "I saw you at Sectionals," Jesse continued. "You guys are talented. I could help you out..."

"Aren't you the competition?" Rachel asked.

"I have a feeling that you and I would sound good together," Jesse continued.

"I do have a preferred duet partner..." Rachel began. Of course, would he still want to sing with her? She could tell he'd been hurt, and she felt terrible.

"You know, the kids were talking about what happened with your boyfriend," Jesse said.

"That's none of your business," Rachel said. "And I'm feeling really uneasy right now."

"You're very pretty," Jesse said.

"Leave me alone," Rachel said. She didn't know why a guy from the other team was flirting with her. Then the answer came to her - this was probably a plot to mess with New Directions before Regionals. Rachel didn't want to date this guy. For one thing, he was hideous. He seemed like a jerk. And Rachel knew who she wanted to be with - Finn.

x

As Finn went to his locker, a girl he didn't recognize come up to him. "You're a really good singer."

Finn had no idea who this girl was. She looked slightly familiar, but at the same time, he couldn't quite place her. "Thanks."

"I'm here for the McKinley/ Carmel swim meet, and I happened to be walking by the choir room. You're so talented."

Carmel. Now Finn knew who this was: Harmony St. James. She was the younger sister of Jesse St. James, Vocal Adrenaline's male lead. Jesse St. James was a senior who had won MVP at Nationals all three years so far. His sister was a freshman and was supposed to have one of the best voices around. If she thought Finn was good, he must be really good. "Thanks."

"You're very handsome, too," Harmony continued.

"Thank you," Finn said.

"So, I was wondering, would you like to hang out sometime?" Harmony asked. "I saw you at Sectionals, too. You've got a really good voice..."

"You said that," Finn said.

"What do you say we go to dinner on Friday night?" Harmony asked.

Finn gulped. She was asking him out on a date? He wanted to date Rachel... but she didn't want to be with him. Maybe if he dated this girl, it would help him get over Rachel. "Sure."

x

After Rachel was being hit on by the guy from Vocal Adrenaline, she'd realized that she didn't want to be with anyone but Finn. Finn had been right yesterday. He was the one person who got her. The one person who accepted her without conditions. The one person who really understood her.

And she wanted to be with him.

Rachel went up to Finn at his locker. "Hey."

"Hey," Finn said.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Rachel said. "I realized you're right. I want to be with you."

Finn paused. "I've started seeing someone..."

"Since yesterday?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, she asked me out yesterday, and I thought you didn't want to be together, so I said yes," Finn said.

"What?" Rachel asked. She didn't expect things to move so quickly. "Who is she?"

"Oh, her name is Harmony St. James, she goes to Carmel," Finn said.

St. James? Was she perhaps related to Jesse St. James? Rachel had a feeling this girl had done the same thing to Finn that Jesse had done to her. "Finn, don't you think it's strange that once we make Regionals, a girl from the other team is hitting on you?"

Finn looked annoyed. "You think no girl would like me without an ulterior motive?"

"I just told you I want to be with you!" Rachel protested.

"Well, I'm with someone else now," Finn said.

"Her brother tried to hit on me the other day," Rachel said. "Finn..."

"Yeah right," Finn said before walking away.

x

Finn had been suspicious that Rachel was right about Harmony. He couldn't stop thinking about that as he drove to the St. James's house on Friday night. When he rang the bell, a guy answered the door. "Hello," the boy said. "Are you Finn Hudson?"

"Yeah," Finn said.

"I'm Jesse St. James, Harmony's brother," the boy said. "I saw you at Sectionals, too. You show promise, but you have a ways to go."

Finn already knew he didn't like this guy. Then Harmony came in. "Hey Finn."

"Hi," Finn said. He had to admit, Harmony was pretty, but he had a feeling Rachel was right. "Look, I don't know what this is about, but I can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that we're competing against you guys at Regionals..."

"You think that's what this is about?" Jesse asked. "I know my sister. She's never dated anyone before."

"I saw something in you at Sectionals, Finn," Harmony said. "I think you're special. I could tell. This doesn't have anything to do with Regionals."

"The heart wants what the heart wants," Jesse said. "Do you really think this is about competition, Finn?"

"I know Vocal Adrenaline is all about winning," Finn said.

"Well, that's not what this is about for me," Harmony said as she leaned in and kissed Finn. Finn didn't see Jesse and Harmony winking at each other.

x

Finn was still on the fence about Harmony. He felt a bit threatened by her, to be honest. She'd said that she was attracted to him, but there was something that rubbed her the wrong way.

As Finn opened his locker, Rachel came up. "Hey."

"Hi," Finn said. "What are you going to do, give me a hard time for dating someone else?"

"I don't trust this girl," Rachel said. "Her brother gave me a bad vibe."

"She told me that this isn't about Regionals!" Finn protested.

"So you're going to believe some girl you're just meeting?" Rachel asked. "I've learned all too well that you can't even always trust the people you think you're closest to."

"Rachel, can you please stop it?" Finn asked. "You didn't break up with Kurt!"

"I was afraid of what he'd do if I did," Rachel said. "Then I realized I didn't care. I wanted to be with you. I wanted us to be a real couple."

"Well, it's too late," Finn said.

"No, Finn," Rachel interrupted. "Don't think it's too late. I'm not going to go down without a fight."

Finn didn't know what to say or do. He walked away, thinking. It had only been one night. And he wasn't sure if he could believe Harmony. Her brother didn't give Finn a good vibe either...

x

Rachel felt so angry at herself during glee club rehearsal. Mr. Schue had picked out a song for the assignment for the whole glee club to sing, but all Rachel could think about was how mad she was that she'd literally said goodbye to Finn, and then he'd literally said hello to another girl. Why had she been so afraid? Why had she not just gone for it? She'd seen something from the beginning in Finn. He'd become her closest friend and he knew her better than anyone. And she knew these Vocal Adrenaline kids were bad news...

 _Finn: you say "yes"_

 _I say "no"_

 _Finn and Rachel: you say "stop"_

 _I say "go, go, go"_

 _oh, no_

 _New Directions: you say "good-bye"_

 _and I say "hello"_

 _hello, hello_

 _I don't know why you say "good-bye"_

 _I say "hello"_

 _hello_

 _hello, hello_

 _hello_

 _I don't know why_

 _you say "good-bye," I say "hello"_

 _Finn: you say "yes"_

 _New Directions: I say "yes"_

 _Finn: I say "no"_

 _New Directions: maybe, no_

 _Finn and Rachel: you say "stop"_

 _New Directions: I can stay..._

 _Finn and Rachel: I say "go"_

 _New Directions: "go, go"_

 _Finn and Rachel: oh, no_

 _New Directions: you say "good-bye"_

 _and I say "hello"_

 _hello, hello_

 _I don't know why you say "good-bye"_

 _I say "hello"_

 _hello, hello, hello_

 _I don't know why you say "good-bye"_

 _I say "hello"_

 _hello, hello, hello, hello_

 _I don't know why you say "good-bye"_

 _I say "hello"_

 _hello, hello, hello, hello..._

Rachel noticed Finn looked a bit uneasy, too. He kept eyeing her, making her think (and hope) that things weren't completely over for them. She'd messed up, but she was going to do what she could to get it right.


	15. Chapter 15: The Power Of Madonna

_Hi! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I thought I'd already posted this chapter, but I realized when I posted the new chapter of 2016 that I didn't, so I decided to wait until after Christmas to post this chapter since no one has time to read during Christmas. Hope you enjoy it and review if I should keep going!_

The Power Of Madonna

The baby's due date was getting closer and closer, and Quinn and Puck were still unsure what they'd do when she arrived. Both of them thought they wanted to keep her, but they knew it wouldn't be easy. Puck's mom had been pretty helpful, but she did work. Quinn hadn't spoken to her own parents since they kicked her out.

But they'd grown attached to this baby, and if they did give her up, it would sting a little.

Quinn tried to stop thinking about the baby and enjoy her evening with Puck. They were making out on his bed when he suddenly said, "We should do it."

"It?" Quinn asked. Puck had known that she was president of the celibacy club. They'd both been a little drunk the night they had sex at that party. Ever since then, Puck hadn't asked Quinn about sex. She'd always wanted to wait until marriage. But she knew Puck was into sex...

"Yeah," Puck said. "Come on, it's been a while. I used to have sex all the time, but ever since we started dating, I haven't..."

Quinn paused. Was Puck saying he didn't like being with her because she wouldn't have sex? "I... I don't want to."

Puck looked annoyed. "Do you know how hard it is for me to not have sex? This is the longest I've gone without having sex in years."

"Well, if you want to have sex, why don't you go back to those cougars?" Quinn asked, suddenly regretted her words.

Puck stormed out of the room, leaving Quinn alone.

x

Quinn couldn't stop thinking about her argument with Puck at school the next day. She wished her mom hadn't cut off ties with her. She couldn't talk to Puck's mom about this. When she tried talking to Miss Pillsbury, Miss Pillsbury had kept suggesting other people. The glee girls were meeting now to put together a number for the Madonna assignment, and since the guys were having a meeting of their own, maybe they'd be able to help. "Can I ask you guys something?" Quinn asked.

"Sure," Rachel said.

"The other night, Puck wanted to have sex, and I wasn't sure if I was ready," Quinn said. "He got really mad and stormed off. I was just wondering: is it normal to just not want to have sex? Is it possible to tell a guy and have them not get mad at you? I know we had sex once before, but we were drunk, and look what happened..."

"Do what I do: don't say no," Lauren interrupted. "Sex is awesome!"

Lauren did have a reputation for sleeping with any guy in the school who would sleep with her.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Brittany asked before looking at Quinn.

"I don't think I can be much help," Rachel sighed. "The only guy I've had a serious relationship turned out to be using me as a beard..."

"Artie's fine with me not wanting to have sex," Mercedes said. "We still manage to have a good relationship."

"Well, that's a minority," Tina said. "I got used, too. Guys just don't care about our feelings."

Mr. Schue came in with a girl Quinn didn't recognize. "Hey, girls. This is Harmony St. James. She's a new freshman who just transferred here to McKinley from Carmel. She and her brother were on Vocal Adrenaline. Their parents are spending the winter in Bali, so they've temporarily moved in with their uncle who lives in this district..."

What was going on? Why would anyone from Vocal Adrenaline transfer to McKinley?

"Why is she here?" Rachel snapped.

"Rachel!" Mr. Schue gasped.

"Ah, you're Rachel, the one who wants my boyfriend," Harmony said. "Why would he want to date a girl as short as you with a big nose?"

Rachel looked upset. "Anyway," Harmony continued. "YOu guys should be glad my brother and I are here. He led Vocal Adrenaline to three national titles, and I know this year, we'll be co-MVPs at Nationals. None of you have what it takes."

"Harmony, these girls are very talented," Mr. Schue said.

"Please," Harmony interrupted. "The obese one can barely move. The black one sounds like she's yelling when she sings. The Hispanic one sounds constipated. The Asian one sounds like she has a cold. The tall blond one can dance, but her voice needs autotune. The short one's big nose is too distracting. And the blond slut..."

"Hey!" Mr. Schue interrupted. "These are your teammates now, Harmony. We're glad to have talented people like you and your brother here, but this is a team."

"We should get to vote on them," Rachel said.

"Your jealousy is so unattractive," Harmony said. "Finn wouldn't want to date a girl like you."

"This isn't about Finn," Rachel said. "I don't want someone who insults everyone here!"

Mr. Schue looked confused. "Girls, you were working on a Madonna number. Why don't you give Harmony an intro?"

"Yeah, you'd all probably make a great backup posse for me," Harmony said.

The girls had a feeling Rachel was right - this girl was bad news.

x

Down the hall, the boys sat in Mr. Schue's classroom to work on their own number for the assignment. Finn was surprised to see Harmony's brother Jesse come in. "What are you doing here?" Finn asked.

"Harmony and I go here now," Jesse said.

"Wait, he's your girlfriend's brother?" Puck asked Finn.

Finn didn't see this coming. "What, since when?"

"Since our parents are spending the winter in Bali, Harmony and I are staying with our uncle. So we're going here now," Jesse said. "I'm a star. You guys can learn from me."

"Oh, like we'll even get to do anything," Blaine said. "Mr. Schue's going to give you and your sister all the solos."

"Excuse me, who won Nationals MVP his first three years?" Jesse asked. "And she has my DNA. We deserve to be the leads. And we saw you at Sectionals. You guys are weak."

Finn already had a feeling he didn't like Jesse, and now he was even more sure. "Then if we're weak, why are you here?"

"Harmony knew that she saw something in you," Jesse said. "With our parents out of town, we had to move in with a relative. And since our uncle lives in Lima - why not go to McKinley so she can go to school with her dream guy?"

Finn was already feeling overwhelmed. He wasn't even sure if he was ready to declare Harmony his girlfriend. She moved so fast, she talked a lot... it was hard to keep up with her.

But if she was transferring schools to be with him - she must have seen something in him.

x

"Hey," Harmony said, coming up to Finn as he left the boys rehearsal. "Isn't it great? You and I go to school together now. So now we can be together all the time."

Finn managed a smile. "Yeah."

"Between you, me and my brother, we'll win Nationals for sure," Harmony added. "So, we're doing Madonna, and I'd like to do a number together..."

Finn looked ahead and saw Rachel looking sad. Part of him felt bad for her, but at the same time - she'd stayed with Kurt when she knew he wanted her. Why not give her a taste of her own medicine?

"That Rachel girl thinks she's really good," Harmony continued. "But she's not as good as me. No way would she even make Vocal Adrenaline."

Finn didn't like this. "Hey, Rachel's a good singer."

"Not as good as me," Harmony said. "When Jesse and I are playing the leads in shows on Broadway, just imagine... you'll be in the front row, cheering me on."

This was definitely too fast. They hadn't even known each other two weeks. Finn had to say something. "Harmony, I just met you. Isn't it a little early to make future plans?"

"I knew you were the one right away," Harmony said. "Why do you think I switched schools?" She stood up to kiss Finn.

x

Rachel remembered how she and Finn had first bonded. They'd led a song in glee club together. She was upset that Finn was dating another girl now, but maybe there was hope for them. They'd bonded with a duet before, maybe they could now.

Finn came into the choir room. "Hey."

"Hey," Rachel said. Seeing him made her a little sad. She didn't know why Harmony had transferred here. Her dads went on business trips a lot. At the same time, she couldn't help but be mad at herself. She'd stayed with Kurt when she knew something was going on there and that he was a platonic friend...

"You okay?" Finn asked.

"I just... now that Harmony's here, I'm worried I won't get to sing with you or spend as much time with you," Rachel said.

"Hey, we'll always be friends," Finn said, putting his arm around Rachel.

Rachel didn't think she could be upset with Finn after what happened. She was upset with Harmony and Jesse for transferring, sure, but most of all, she was upset with herself for turning Finn down. "Anyway, I put together a mashup for the Madonna assignment if you'd like to give it a try."

"Do you need to ask?" Finn asked as he sat down at the drums. He gave Rachel a half smile, making her hope that there was hope for them as he began playing.

 _Rachel: Something in the way you loved me won't let me be  
I don't want to be your prisoner so baby won't you set me free  
Stop playin' with my heart  
Finish what you start  
When you make my love come down  
If you want me let me know  
Baby, let it show  
Honey, don't you fool around  
Finn: Don't try to resist me  
Open your heart to me, baby  
I'll hold the lock and you hold the key  
Rachel and Finn: Open your heart to me, darlin'  
I'll give you love if you  
Finn: You turn the key  
Rachel and Finn: Something in your eyes is makin' such a fool of me (Finn: You're making me, you're making such a fool of me)  
I see you on the street and you walk on by (Finn: You're on the street I see when you're walking by)  
When you hold me in your arms  
You love me till I just can't see (Finn: Ohh, Woah)  
So you choose to look the other way  
Well I've got something to say...  
Open your heart to me, baby  
I'll hold the lock and you hold the key  
Open your heart to me, darlin'  
I'll give you love if you, you turn the key (Finn: Open your heart I'll make you love me)  
I'll hold the lock and you hold the key  
Open your heart to me, darlin'  
I'll give you love if you, you turn the key (Finn: Ohh ohh ohh)  
Open your heart with the key_

At the end of the song, Finn smiled up at Rachel. "That was good."

"Yeah," Rachel said. She'd enjoyed the looks they'd given each other - but she couldn't do that when he was with someone.

x

Little did Finn and Rachel know, Harmony and Jesse had seen them perform. "Who does she think she is?" Harmony snapped.

"I don't know what you see in him," Jesse told his sister. "He dances like a zombie that has to poop."

"Well, he is their lead," Harmony said. "And if we're going to get done what we came here to get done, we need to get inside them."

"That's true," Jesse said. "God, this is no Vocal Adrenaline. That Schuester guy doesn't know what he's doing..."

"You already have a full ride to UCLA," Harmony reminded her brother. "And I can just transfer back to Carmel when all this is over. Everyone makes mistakes in their career, and this is ours. I just wish that hobbit wasn't hitting so much on my man..."

"Well, maybe I could get her to leave him alone," Jesse said. "Come on, we did our research of this school. I was the only freshman in the history of show choir to win MVP at Nationals. We know she's attracted to power. Maybe if I did some work on her, she'd stay away from Finn."

"I like the way you think," Harmony said.

x

Rachel had enjoyed singing with Finn again, but had a feeling that wouldn't be happening much in the future. Now that Harmony was here, she was sure she'd claim him. Then her thoughts were interrupted when Jesse came up to her locker. "Hi Rachel."

"Hi Jesse," Rachel said. Jesse had just transferred, but Rachel already wished he'd transfer back. He was even worse than Harmony, if possible, constantly putting down every member of New Directions, obsessing over Broadway and showtunes, criticizing the song choices, having a holier than thou attitude... not to mention she hated looking at his hair.

"So, I heard you have your eye on my sister's man," Jesse said.

What was Rachel supposed to say to that? "Don't worry."

"You are such a liar," Jesse said. "Anyway, he's not going to break up with my sister. But I must admit, as nasally as you sound and as annoying as those faces you make when you sing are, you are very pretty, and you're a good singer. You have the potential to be almost as good as my sister and me."

Had Jesse actually complimented her? Rachel didn't think he was capable of that. "Well, thanks."

"So I was thinking, want to go out with me tomorrow night?" Jesse asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm not interested in dating now," Rachel said. She especially didn't want to date someone like Jesse.

"I know you want to date Finn and it's not going to happen," Jesse said. "So why don't you go out with me?"

"Because you're a jackass," Rachel said.

"Oh, cocky," Jesse said.

Rachel had to admit - maybe dating another guy was what she needed to make Finn see that he wanted to be with her. "I'll give it a try."

x

Puck had been thinking about his fight with Quinn the other night a lot. As stressful as this situation was, he was sure he loved Quinn and their baby and that he wanted to keep the baby and raise her with Quinn. Sure, in the past, he'd slept around with cougars, but if he did keep that baby, he couldn't do that. He'd have an example to set for her.

Quinn came into Puck's bedroom. "Hey. You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," Puck said. "I've been thinking a lot about the other night and what I did wasn't okay. Sure, I've been with a lot of girls and had a lot of hookups, but I saw something special in you right away and realized you were more than a hookup. I'm sorry for the way I acted. You deserve better."

Quinn looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah," Puck said. "I'm really sorry, Quinn. You and our daughter don't deserve that. I really hope you'll give me another chance. I haven't flirted or hooked up with anyone else since I found out you were pregnant..."

"Really?" Quinn asked.

"Really," Puck said. "I don't want to be dating a bunch of girls at once anymore. I want you to be the only girl in my life."

"Thank you," Quinn said, hugging Puck. "I do appreciate what you've done for me ever since... you know."

"Of course," Puck said. "And I promise - I won't ask about sex again. When you're ready, you can come to me."

x

Rachel's date with Jesse had been the worst date ever.

He'd wanted to go to a music store and perform a bunch of songs for the auditions at UCLA. If Jesse had won MVP three times, Rachel wondered what the other singers at Nationals had been like... he sounded constipated, his breathwork was terrible and he managed to sound smug even when he was singing. Rachel hoped for Finn's sake that Harmony wasn't too much like her brother.

After going to the music store, Rachel and Jesse went back to her house. Of course, he'd wanted to sing even more showtunes there, and as much as Rachel hated the idea of kissing him, she was so relieved when he wanted to take a break and make out, she didn't object.

After a bit of making out, Jesse said, "We should do it."

"It?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, totally. Haven't you ever done it before?" Jesse asked.

"No," Rachel said.

"You'll be fine, it's no big deal," Jesse said.

"I don't want to," Rachel said. She wanted to save herself for Finn.

"Don't be a prude," Jesse said.

"I want my first time to be special," Rachel said. "This is only our first date... I want to wait for the right person."

Jesse pulled away. "Finn isn't going to leave my sister for you. You have something really great being offered to you. I've won three MVP titles and I got a full ride to UCLA."

"You are so full of yourself, I can't stand it," Rachel said. "Maybe it has nothing to do with Finn that I didn't want to go out with you. Maybe it's just that you're a living piece of trash. Maybe that has something to do with it."

Jesse looked shocked. "What did you call me?"

"The point is, maybe I want to have sex with a guy for the first time who loves ME, not a guy who just loves himself and winning and fame," Rachel said. "Get the fuck out of my house."

"We don't need to have sex if it upsets you so much," Jesse said.

"No, I don't want to date a guy who just uses me for arm candy," Rachel said. "Kurt may have been using me as a beard, but at least I could tell he genuinely liked me. Get out of my house."

"Rachel..." Jesse began.

"Get. Out," Rachel repeated.

x

"Come on, Finn," Harmony said as they lay on her bed in her uncle's house. "I've been fantasizing about this forever."

Finn didn't feel right doing this. He'd wanted to break up with Harmony, but he felt like he couldn't after she'd transferred schools so she could be with him. "I'm not ready for sex."

"You're not the one who has to worry about getting pregnant," Harmony said. "I am, and I have protection. I'm not Quinn."

Finn wasn't even sure if he liked Harmony enough for sex. "I just... I'm not ready for that yet."

"What do you mean?" Harmony asked. "I'm hot and talented..."

"Harmony, I need to go," Finn said, leaving the house as he heard Harmony calling things after him. As soon as he got outside, he called Rachel. "I was about to call you," Rachel said as Finn answered the phone.

Finn noticed that Rachel sounded upset. "Are you okay?"

"Jesse was trying to pressure me to have sex and when I said no, he made me really uncomfortable," Rachel said.

Finn hadn't even known Rachel was dating Jesse. "What? That's insane. I'm sorry, Rachel. But since when are you two dating?"

"Well, he asked me out recently," Rachel said. "It was a big mistake and the worst date ever. If I don't want to have sex, then that's my choice."

"Of course," Finn said. "Harmony started throwing a diva fit when I didn't want to have sex..." He had to admit, he was glad that Rachel hadn't gone through with sex with Jesse.

"You know, you can break up with her," Rachel told Finn. "You have other options."

Finn knew what Rachel meant. And he wished he could act on one of those other options. But after what Harmony had done for him, he couldn't. "I can't, Rachel. She transferred schools for me... it would be kind of a dick move for me to dump her after she changed her whole life for me."

"I know I haven't made the best choices, but I promise I'd never hurt you," Rachel said. "If there was one thing I could change, it would be that I would have broken up with Kurt and gotten with you..."

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Finn said. "I can't." He hung up the phone, wishing that he could.


	16. Chapter 16: Home

_Hi! Since I haven't updated since New Year's, Happy New Year! Hope you guys are having a great start to the year :) I'm sorry it took so long - this one was one I had trouble with. Since Mercedes and Kurt aren't on the cheerios, there wasn't much I could do with the cheerleading storyline, and since I haven't really developed Will and Terri in this universe, my version of this episode focuses on the Hudson/ Hummels. Hope that's okay with you. Anyway, enjoy and review if I should keep going!_

Home

Kurt and Blaine lay on Kurt's bed making out. While Kurt was glad he and Blaine didn't have to keep things quiet anymore, coming out hadn't been easy. When he was the quarterback, no one dared to make fun of him because of the position he held. Kurt had never even liked football very much, but he thought if he was on the football team, no one would think he was gay. Now that he'd been demoted, things were different. People were willing to call out names to him and Blaine now. They'd been shoved into lockers. Kurt's dry cleaning bill had gone up so much, thanks to the slushies.

This was why he'd been afraid to come out - and he was just glad that Blaine still wanted to be with him, despite all of this.

Kurt's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock on the door. His dad must be home. "Hello?"

"Kurt, can I come in?" Burt asked.

"Yeah, of course," Kurt said, getting up and opening the door.

Burt came in. "Oh, hi Blaine."

"Hi Burt," Blaine said.

At least Kurt was okay with Kurt and Blaine being in Kurt's room behind closed doors. "What's up, Dad?"

"I don't know quite how to tell you this, Kurt... but I'm seeing someone," Burt said.

Kurt wasn't expecting that. Burt hadn't dated anyone since Kurt's mom had died. "What?"

"I know this is probably a surprise..." Burt continued. "I didn't expect to date again after your mom's death, but I met her at one of your football games. We sat together and we were talking a lot, and we decided to exchange numbers, so we've been dating..."

Football games? So was it someone Kurt might know? "What the hell Dad? Does Mom mean nothing to you anymore?"

"Of course I still love your mom," Burt said. "But she's gone. When I'm with Carole, I feel happy again. I didn't want to tell you at first because I had a feeling it would upset you and it wouldn't have been worth it if it didn't work out with her..."

"So, her name is Carole?" Kurt asked. "Who is she?"

"She works the desk at the local hospital," Burt said. "Her son is actually on the football team and in the glee club with you... you've mentioned him, I think."

So Kurt also knew this woman's son? "What's his name?"

"Finn Hudson," Burt said. "He's the tall one, right?"

Finn? Burt was dating Finn's mom? He didn't know what to say. Had Carole told Burt about how Kurt used to pick on Finn? Did Burt know that Coach Tanaka had replaced him with Finn for quarterback? Did he remember that Finn had been the one to tell Rachel about him and Blaine?

"Yeah, we know Finn," Blaine said.

x

"Finn, I need to tell you something," Carole said.

"Okay," Finn said.

"Sit down," Carole said.

Finn began worrying. Was his mom okay? Was she sick? "Are you okay, Mom?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Carole said. "I was waiting a while to tell you this... but I think I'm in love."

In love? Finn had never expected this. He thought his mom had lots of loyalty to his dad. She talked about him a lot with Finn about his dad... Finn remembered Carole's boyfriend from grade school who'd cheated on her. What if this man did that, too? Finn and his mom were happy together...

"I know this is going to be a bit of a surprise," Carole said.

"Yeah, it is," Finn said. "I don't want you to get hurt again..."

"This guy isn't going to hurt me," Carole said. "I haven't felt this way about a man since your father died. He's a great guy. At first I was afraid to date again, but I felt a connection right away and that connection's just been growing stronger..."

This must have been real. Finn never remembered his mom talking that way about her ex-boyfriend Darren. "Who is he?"

"It's your friend Kurt's father, Burt Hummel," Carole said.

Kurt? Finn didn't think Kurt was his friend. They'd definitely had their ups and downs. Sure, they were pretty civil nowadays, but there was lingering tension. "Uh..." Finn began, not sure if he wanted to tell his mom how complicated things really were with him and Kurt.

"Kurt got you a tryout on the football team and he was your partner for that singing assignment," Carole said. "His dad is a great guy."

Finn had met Kurt's dad briefly and he seemed nice, but he wasn't sure about this. He didn't like the idea of his mom dating another man, especially when that man had a son Finn had an uncomfortable relationship with.

Before Finn could say anything, the doorbell rang. "Is that him?" Finn asked.

"No, we can talk more soon," Carole said. "I was just selling some stuff that we don't need on Craigslist, so the people who are getting my old bed are here..."

Finn realized what Carole meant. "The bed you and Dad shared?!"

"Yeah," Carole said.

Finn couldn't believe how calm Carole was being. "Mom, you and Dad shared that bed on the honeymoon..."

"I don't need a double bed anymore," Carole said.

Finn didn't know what to say. His mom was fine with selling the bed. Maybe she really didn't love his dad anymore. "Wasn't I conceived on that bed? Does it mean nothing to you."

"You were conceived on a pinball machine. I'll be right back," Carole said.

Finn wanted to text Kurt to see if he had any idea what was going on. After Carole led the couple who was purchasing the bed out of the basement, the man's eyes fell on the chair Finn's dad was sitting on in the only picture they had of Finn's dad holding him. "Are you selling anything else?" she asked.

"I think she likes the recliner if you're interested," the husband said.

"Well, it still works, how much did you have in mind?" Carole asked.

Finn couldn't let them sell this chair. "Sorry, it's not for sale," Finn snapped, looking at the couple.

The couple looked confused, but then left. When they were gone, Finn held up the photo. "This is the only picture of me and Dad. It's the only picture there's ever going to be of me and Dad. And he's sitting in this chair."

"It's not him," Carole said.

Finn was surprised by how Carole was acting. Now that he thought about it, she'd talked a lot less about Finn's dad over the last few months...

x

"Finn's mom?!" Kurt asked Blaine once the two of them were alone again. "What if she tells my dad about how we used to make fun of Finn all the time?" He didn't want his dad to know about that. Once he joined glee and got to know Finn, he was afraid to admit, he actually liked Finn...

"Maybe Finn didn't tell her about that," Blaine tried to assure Kurt.

"Oh, this is Finn we're talking about," Kurt groaned. "I'm sure he did..."

"You were having a hard time, with being in the closet and trying to maintain your image," Blaine said. "Even though what we did was wrong, your dad would probably understand..."

"I didn't want to be doing that," Kurt said.

"Neither did I," Blaine said.

"You were ready to come out before I was," Kurt reminded Blaine.

"We may not have social status anymore, but I was tired of living a lie," Blaine admitted. "I don't like it when people make fun of us, but I'd rather be at the bottom of the pyramid and be with you than be at the top and living a lie."

"Yeah, me too," Kurt said. "But Finn..." Finn had always been nice to him, even though the football players had never been nice to him. It was never Kurt, Blaine and Artie who were particularly mean, it was mostly people like Dave Karofsky and Azimio Adams.

"It's probably nothing serious," Blaine said.

"My dad hasn't dated anyone since my mom died," Kurt said. "And if he's telling me, it probably is serious." He began to get worried. What if Finn's mom said something to Burt about how Kurt used to treat Finn? What if Burt was replacing Kurt's mom?

Burt knocked on Kurt's door again. "Oh, Kurt, I forgot to tell you. Tomorrow night, Carole and I thought it would be fun to take you and Finn out to dinner."

"But Blaine and I were going to go to the community theatre production of Spring Awakening," Kurt protested.

"It's fine, we probably would have gotten bad seats since we would have been getting tickets at the door," Blaine said.

Kurt glared at Blaine. His boyfriend was not helping.

x

Finn and Kurt sat silently at the table at Breadstix with their parents, neither knowing what to say. Their parents seemed happy enough, but Finn couldn't help but be resentful. First his mom was selling things she and his dad used to use together, now this was going on.

"You two are being pretty quiet," Carole said.

"Well, it's not like I want to be here," Finn snapped.

"Finn!" Carole reprimanded.

"He has a point, neither do I," Kurt said. "I wanted to go out with Blaine."

"Well, you probably would have paid for a meal with Blaine," Burt said. "This is a free meal." He looked at Finn. "So, Carole told me that you're playing basketball now?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "I liked football better though."

"Really?" Carole asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I know it sounds crazy, but getting thrown at was kind of fun."

"It's not crazy," Burt said. "You know, I was a football player too in high school."

"You were?" Finn asked. "Is that how Kurt started playing football?"

"Yeah, but he didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I did," Burt said. "I really liked getting the feeling of catching that ball and having everyone come after me..."

"Yeah, I really like that too," Finn said.

"You know, one of the guys I sell tires to is an assistant coach for the Browns," Burt said. "Maybe sometime I could get tickets to a game."

Finn liked that idea. "I've never been to an NFL game. That would be so much fun!"

x

Kurt couldn't help but notice how his dad was hitting it off with Finn. Sure, Kurt had played football, but it was more to hide the fact that he was gay than anything. But seeing his dad talking with Finn made him wonder - was Burt disappointed that he wasn't as into sports as Burt was?

Kurt turned to Finn's mom, hoping to break up Burt and Finn's conversation. "So, Mrs. Hudson, I like that sweater."

"Thanks, Kurt," Carole said.

"But I must say, those jeans don't go with it," Kurt said. "Where do you do your shopping?"

"It really depends," Carole said. "Generally wherever happens to be having a good sale at the time."

"Oh, you should go out and have fun with your shopping," Kurt said. "I personally really like J Crew, H&M, White House Black Market..."

"What types of names are those?" Burt asked.

"Those are stores, Dad," Kurt said.

"I thought you liked that Marcy's place," Burt said.

"Macy's, and I like them too," Kurt said.

"What difference does it make?" Finn asked. "As long as my clothes fit and they're clean, that's all that matters."

"That's what I've spent nearly sixteen years trying to tell Kurt," Burt said as he and Finn both laughed. Kurt didn't find that funny though.

x

Kurt had a feeling from the beginning that he didn't want his dad to be dating again - but right now, the problem he had wasn't Burt, it was Finn. It had hurt to see Burt talking to Finn and the two of them acting like such good friends. Even when Kurt tried to move the conversation away, Burt and Finn took over again.

He'd spent his whole life trying to please his dad, even signing up for activities he didn't enjoy... but the uncoordinated, nerdy, glee club geek who everyone at school made fun of walked in and managed to bond with Burt right away.

Kurt began ripping down colors he had in mind for his bedroom in frustration when Burt came down. "Picked one out?"

"These are all wrong," Kurt complained.

"Well, they all look the same to me," Burt said.

"Maybe if they were different colored football jerseys, you'd be able to tell them apart," Kurt said.

"Are you upset about me talking about sports with Finn?" Kurt asked.

"You don't think it wasn't hard for me to watch you bonding with the son you've clearly always wanted?" Kurt asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Burt asked.

"Oh, don't pretend you don't know," Kurt said. "I've spent my whole life trying to please you and then the biggest loser at my school manages to do it in one meal..."

"Now Kurt, Finn's not a loser, he's a great guy," Burt said.

"Oh, you're defending him?" Kurt asked.

"Kurt, you're my son," Burt said. "And some guy talk with Finn isn't going to change that."

"Guy talk?" Kurt asked. Was he not enough of a guy for Burt?

"You shouldn't bring your resentment of me dating again out on Finn," Burt said. "I know you're upset about me dating again, but I'm not trying to replace your mom. One can love more than one person. I haven't been this happy since your mom died."

Kurt thought about what his dad was saying. Sure, he was glad his dad was happy, but he didn't want his dad to replace his mom, or the idea of his dad being closer to Finn than him. He picked up his phone and dialed Finn's number. Finn picked up. "Hey."

"Hey," Kurt said. "We need to put a stop to what's going on with our parents."

"You were upset when I was talking with your dad, weren't you?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, I was," Kurt said. "And don't you feel like they're replacing our dead parents with each other?"

"Yeah, we need to help keep our parents' memories alive," Finn agreed. "We should talk to them..."

"Yeah, so you agree, they need to break up," Kurt said.

"Yeah," Finn agreed.

At least Finn agreed. Kurt went upstairs to where his dad was. "Finn thinks you and his mom shouldn't be together, too."

"What?" Burt asked.

"I just talked to him on the phone," Kurt said. "We don't like that you're trying to replace our dead parents with each other..."

"Is there anything I can say that can convince you you're not trying to replace my mom?" Burt asked.

"I don't know," Kurt admitted.

"I have lots of good memories with your mom," Burt said. "Dating Carole isn't going to change that."

There clearly wasn't a way to convince his dad to break up with Finn's mom. Maybe Finn would have better luck.

x

Finn had realized - maybe Kurt was right. Maybe he'd been right from the beginning. His dad had been a hero, after all, and his mom had gotten help from his dad to make him. And maybe if Finn did something extreme, she'd get the point.

Finn went into his mom's room and got the urn that Carole kept Finn's dad's ashes in, then headed downstairs.

Carole looked up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to dump Dad's ashes in the street," Finn said.

Carole jumped up. "What?!"

"I'm following your lead, Mom," Finn snapped. "You're dumping him, so why shouldn't I do the same?"

"I don't understand," Carole said. "You seemed to be having fun tonight with Burt."

"Well, I don't like that you're replacing Dad, and Kurt doesn't like that Burt's replacing his mom."

Carole took the urn from Finn. "Okay."

"What are you doing?" Finn asked.

Carole put the urn in the chair. "What you want. What we've been doing for the last 15 years: pretending." She turned on the TV. "Come on, Finn, let's sit and watch TV as a family. Look! There's a basketball game on. Your dad would've liked to watch that." She turned to the urn. "What do you think, Christopher?"

"Mom, you're acting insane!" Finn groaned.

"And you're acting selfish," Carole said. "I'm in love with Burt... it's the first time I've been really happy since your dad died."

"So, you're not happy with you and me?" Finn asked.

"Of course I'm happy," Carole said. "But one day, you're going to go off to college. You'll leave and start your own life. I miss your dad so much. I talk to his urn every day. You think what we have is normal, but it's not."

"He wouldn't want you to date another man if I wasn't ready for it," Finn protested.

"You didn't know him," Carole snapped. "I love you so much Finn - but we need a family, a home."

x

"Where are we going?" Kurt asked Burt as they drove.

"We're going to go see Carole and Finn," Burt said.

"Carole and Finn?" Kurt asked. Maybe they were going to break up...

When Burt and Kurt went inside, Kurt went to sit next to Finn in the living room. "Do you think we'll have any luck?"

"I don't know," Finn said. "I may not have gone about it in the best way last night..."

"Oh God... what did you do?" Kurt asked.

"I told my mom that I was going to dump out my dad's ashes like she's dumping out his memory..." Finn said.

"Oh God," Kurt repeated. "I didn't think you had that side to you, Finn."

Before Finn had a chance to respond, Burt and Carole came in. Kurt looked at Finn, then at their parents. "We want to talk to you..."

"We want to talk to you two first," Burt said. "Finn, you're pissed, I get it. Your dad is a hero, not only to the world for what he did in Desert Storm, but he's a hero to you. No way I can fill his shoes. It's just, you know... I love your mom. She's like this angel that, you know, came down to wake me up after all these years, and I swear to you I will never hurt her, I will always take care of her. And I can't be your dad, but I will be her hero for as long as she'll take me."

"It's the same for me, Kurt," Carole said. "I'm not trying to replace your mom. I see the amazing man that you are and I know that it's because of your mom and your dad. I'm never going to be like that for you. But I do want to be a friend to you. And I love your dad. I'm finally happy again. Like your dad said about me, I promise, I'm NEVER going to hurt him. We've said what we wanted to say, what did you two want to say?"

The things Burt and Carole were saying had gotten Kurt thinking. He looked at Finn, who seemed to be thinking as well. Finn's mom was a good woman. And he had to admit, Finn was a good person too. "I'm sorry for how I acted last night," Finn finally said.

"Yeah, me too," Kurt said.

"We don't know if this is going to last long," Carole said. "I hope it does. We didn't want to upset you two, but you should know - we're not trying to replace your parents."

"I'm sorry," Kurt repeated.


End file.
